If We Were A Movie
by TStabler
Summary: A series of unconventional songfics. Each song is used in a powerful way, the lyrics are all there, somehow. These are very DIFFERENT from traditional songfics. They're all E/O with hints of F/C, M/A and we see plenty of the kids!
1. If We Were A Movie

**A/N: This idea hit me as I was thinking of title for my Songfic Series. So, TADA! Not your traditional songfic, but like I've said before, mine never are. Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "If We Were A Movie" by Hanna Montana (trust me okay?) Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

"Dickie, this is fabulous. I am so proud of you and Lizzie for writing this all by yourselves!" Olivia said handing the stack of stapled papers back to the young Stabler boy.

"Well, thank you! Thank you!" He said bowing twice.

"Oh, please. You came up with the names and the gave me ideas for the love scene. I wrote the dialogue, storyline, stage directions, setting, persona..."

"Okay, Speilberg. We get it!" Dickie looked back at Olivia. "We want you to be in it, Liv. We need to film it tonight while you and Dad are both off so..."

"Woah, hold on. Me and your father?" Olivia looked at the two children, who were looking at her with pleading eyes. "Who, exactly, would we be playing?" She drummed her fingers along her desk and narrowed her eyes at the twins.

Lizzie cleared her throat. "Well, Olivia, you would be portraying the character of Amelia. And Daddy would be playing Aaron."

"Yeah," Dickie added. "You guys wouldn't have to do much acting. You're already cops. You're already best friends. See how _perfect_ this is?"

Elliot came over with two cups of coffee and put one down by Olivia's tapping fingers. "Yeah, perfect, until page ninety when Aaron gets shot!"

"Daddy! Cops get shot all the time! Amelia is _right _there, and she runs to your side and it's the most beautiful moment," Lizzie said holding the script to her chest and staring off dreamily.

Dickie scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I can not believe my sister and I wrote a chick flick for our English final." He then looked sternly at his dad, leaned in and bared his teeth. "If I fail because you two can't kiss like you mean it, I'm signing you up for every career day, field trip and bake sale from now until the twelfth grade." Dickie and Lizze ran out of the bullpen giggling and planning their little shoot.

Olivia spit out the coffee she had just started to drink. "Woah, Kiss? What? Lizzie! Dickie!"

* * *

"Okay, when I yell action, you need to start," Dickie said.

"Really?" Elliot asked sarcastically. "I did not know that. Thank you!"

Dickie laughed and ran to get the camera. "Anytime, Dad. Okay. Remember, this is the last scene! When you fall, Aaron, you know you're not going to die, but Amelia doesn't know you've got your vest on so...oh just ...you know it."

Olivia and Elliot smirked at each other and rolled their eyes, and waited for their cue. They had their guns poised, as if they were in a shootout, and were hiding behind a car on Elliot's street.

"Action!" Dickie yelled.

"Oh, fiddlesticks! Aaron, I seem to be out of bullets!" Olivia said in her lighter, "Amelia" voice.

Elliot, stepping out further from behind the car, said, in a really macho "Aaron" voice, "That's okay Amelia, I have one left, and I have perfect aim."

Elliot, as Aaron, stepped to his feet aimed and fired, but not before he was "hit" and dropped limply to the ground! "Oh, that hurts very badly."

Olivia, suddenly forgetting they were acting because she'd seen him fall like that so many times, ran over and cradled him in her arms. She saw him wink at her and she relaxed. "Hey! Hey, stay with me, do you understand me? You do not get to die on me." She ran her hands over his face and his head, and looked into his eyes.

Lizzie, crying as she watched, mouthed the words as Olivia said them. "Oh, my God. I can't believe, all this time, I've never told you...and now it might be too late, but you have to know. I love you. I've always loved you. I'm in love with you, and you can not leave me here, because I don't know how to function without you, El, uh, Aaron. Please, hold on."

Olivia ran her soft fingers down his chest as real tears ran down her cheeks, and she leaned in closer to Elliot. "If you must leave, my darling, please know. You are my best friend, my whole world, the only one there's ever been for me, and because we might never get the chance again..." She pressed her lips to his and felt him snake his hand up her back, caressing its way to her neck. He held her, pushing her closer to his lips and ran his tongue along her bottom lip and deepened the kiss when she allowed that exploring tongue the entrance to her mouth it sought so badly. Then, still kissing her, he pushed himself up to a sitting position, and pulled away, slowly.

Breathless, and quite unsure of just how, exactly, that was acting, she tried to force her brain to command her mouth to move. "Eh...Aaron? You're...you're..."

"I'm okay, baby!" He ripped open his shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest. "Amelia" leaped into "Aaron's" arms, and they kissed passionately, one more time.

"Aaaaaaand, cut!" Dickie yelled.

Olivia and Elliot pulled away from each other, the looks on their faces unreadable, and the nervous laughter started. "Well, uh, that was, um," Elliot said as he rose from the ground and helped Olivia up as well.

"Yeah," Olivia agreed. "I'm going to go...get...something...at home. I hope you two get an A because, just...wow." She hugged the kids and waved awkwardly to Elliot before walking away, quickly, to find the nearest bar.

She stepped into the smoky room and rolled her eyes when she heard the song blaring from the jukebox. Sure, it was the middle of the song, but she knew what it was. Lizzie listened to it all the time. It was just perfect.

_I'll be actin' through my tears_

_Guess you'll never know_

_That I should win_

_An Oscar for this scene I'm in_

_If we were a movie_

_You'd be the right guy_

_And I'd be the best friend_

_That you'd fall in love with_

_In the end _

God _knew._ And he was now _laughing_ at her. Putting her through hell. She didn't know she was going to end up meaning every word of that silly speech Lizzie wrote for Amelia. "Rum and coke. More rum, less coke. No ice."

"Ouch, someone's trying to forget something."

Olivia snickered. "You have no idea, Charlie." He shuffled down the bar and came back with her drink just as Olivia felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I thought I'd find you here," Elliot said, sitting on the stool next to her. "Wow, um, kind of a dogmatic song, huh?"

_Wish I could tell you there's a twist_

_Some kind of hero in disguise_

_When we're together_

_It's for real_

_No playin'_

_Wish I could tell you there's a kiss_

_Like somethin' more than in my mind_

_I see it_

_Could be amazing _

"Tell me about it," she said sipping her very strong drink. "Listen, El, that kiss was..."

He cut her off, afraid of what she was going to say. "Amazing. Fantastic. Best kiss of my life. Both kisses, actually. Liv, I...wasn't...acting."

"No?" She looked up at him, hope in her eyes. "Because everything Amelia was saying, El..."

"I know, Liv. I know, because, I would have said the same things. I also know because, you called me 'El' once, instead of 'Aaron' and you were gonna do it again, too."

She laughed. "What are you, a detective or something?" She took another sip from her drink.

He took the glass from her and took a gulp himself. "Yeah, I am. Which is why I think we might have been set up, Liv."

"What are you talking about?" She turned to face him, and was surprised when he pulled her a little closer and took her hand in his, stroking her palm with his thumb. "Liv, baby, your middle name's 'Amelia'."

"Yeah, and yours is 'Aar-" she squeezed his hand. He took the opportunity to pull her onto his lap and wrap his arms around her. "Yep. And Liv, I also called their school. I talked to their English teacher. Their final project was to write a five page paper on the themes and symbols found in 'The Giver'. They both handed it in days ago."

She turned her head to look at him, the shock and awe on her face was priceless. "I love your children," she declared. "But, I love their father even more." They both smiled, and as Elliot leaned in for their first real, un-orchestrated kiss, they laughed as they heard the apropos ending to the song that had been playing on the jukebox.

_In the end_

_We'd be laughin'_

_Watchin' the sunset_

_Fade to black_

_Show the names_

_Play that happy song _

**A/N: Oh, you know this could totally happen! Okay, not really. It's just the movie...in my mind. Reviews?**


	2. Unapologize

**A/N: Alas! A songfic, with lyrics? Did I really? But I think maybe it fits! I heard this song and I was blown away by the E/O potential of it.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is Unapologize by Carrie Underwood. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

Olivia Benson, SVU Lead Detective, and Casey Novak, Manhattan A.D.A, were sharing a lunch at Bennet's Sidewalk Cafe, across the street from the 16th precinct. Olivia was visibly shaken, something that she does _not_ get very often. So, being her best friend, and a damn good lawyer, Casey got Olivia to admit what was bothering her.

_ "Last night I was pouring out my heart like a waterfall to [him]. And with one kiss I was a runaway train flying off the track to [him]" _Olivia said, using a grand metaphor for a detective.

Casey nearly spit out her Perrier. "Woah, what? Kiss? Like we're talking Hershey's chocolate kiss, right? They gave you those instead of fortune cookies. That's the story, It has to be."

"Casey, the man _kissed_ me! We were just talking, like we do every night, over egg rolls and Kung Pao chicken, and I don't even remember what we were talking about, but he _kissed_ me!"

Casey, in shock, tried to get as many details as possible. This was epic! "Okay, forgive me for being a prosecutor here, but was it a friendly kiss on the cheek, a first-date peck on the lips..."

"No, he threw the food out of our hands and tried to eat my face, instead, Case! It was this mind-blowing, earth-shattering, heart-stopping, toe-curling, life-altering kiss! And when he pulled away, and I looked into his amazing blue eyes, I made the biggest mistake I could have possibly made." Olivia dropped her face into her hands and made a frustrated noise.

"You bit him?" Casey asked, sticking a bite of her salad into her mouth.

Olivia laughed. "Ha, ha. No, you loon!" She raised an eyebrow and pondered. "He probably would have enjoyed that, actually!"

"Then what, Benson?" Casey sipped her water, then signaled the waiter for their check.

_ "I Love You" came flooding out. I couldn't make it stop, just couldn't shut my mouth. I felt like a fool, then I lied and said I was sorry."_ Olivia hid her face behind one hand, and used the other to pick up her bottle of mineral water, sticking the straw through her fingers to get to her mouth so she could sip.

Casey balked at her friend, staring at her. "Oh, no you didn't! What did he say? Did he say it back? Did he, worse, did he _forgive _you? Did you make Stabler cry?"

Olivia let out an embarrassed laugh. "That's the thing, I don't _know_. I ran into the bathroom and told him to leave, Casey! I freaked out! I have _never _said _that_, to _anyone,_ _ever_, and it comes _flying_ out the minute _he_ kisses me. And then I _apologized_ for it, like I didn't just tell him I was in love with him, I just stepped on his foot. 'Oh, sorry'. God, I'm an idiot!"

Casey signed the credit card receipt and grabbed her bag. She was supposed to be in court in five minutes. She looked up and her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything surprising. "Tell me this before I go, Benson. Are you sorry you said it?"

"Ya know? I'm sorry I blurted it out like that and then ran away, but I'm not sorry I said it. I meant it," Olivia said as she picked the label off of her water bottle.

"Good. Tell _him_ that. I'll see you two later," Casey said as she pounded the pavement down to the courthouse.

"What? Him? Two?" Olivia spun around in her chair, confused, to find Elliot standing behind her with an unreadable expression. "Oh, shit."

"Good to see you, too, Liv." He took a step forward and Olivia jumped out of the chair. "Woah, Liv! I'm not gonna bite you or anything. Apparently, I'm the one that likes the biting, remember?" He laughed and she had to snicker herself. He always knew how to calm her down.

She took a deep breath. "Look, before you even say anything, yeah, okay? What you just heard right there? True." She ran a hand through her auburn locks and sighed. _"I unapologize. I meant every word. Won't take back the way I feel about you. I can't unsay what you heard 'cause you heard me right. And I won't try to fight em' back, or hide my feelings for you. I unapologize."_

Elliot took another step forward, pinning Olivia between the table and his incredibly muscular body. "I love you, too, Liv." He cupped her face and rubbed his nose against hers a sweet, adorable, Eskimo kiss, causing them both to smile widely, and he actually made Olivia Benson giggle. She'd be teased for that relentlessly later. "But," he said. "I have one _little _problem with you. The _same_ complaint I had last night, when I kissed you the first time."

"El, I already told you I lied about being sorry, _you know people say a lot of things that they don't really mean. And last night I told a little white lie hoping you'd forget the scene..._

Suddenly, his lips crashed down on hers and every eye in the cafe watched the two most powerful, talented, rugged, tough, diligent detectives in Manhattan soften and melt into silly-putty in each others hands. The kiss was hot, and everyone witnessing it could feel the magic radiating off of this intense couple standing in the middle of the restaurant.

"You talk too much, baby," Elliot said in a whisper, pulling away only long enough to say it and catch his breath. Laughing, the two lost themselves in another kiss. One for which they'd both have to "unapologize" to Captain Cragen, because he had been the one who'd taken Elliot to lunch, and was standing, smirking, right behind them.

**A/N: And your thoughts? It's not your typical songfic. My songfics never are.**


	3. Look At Me

**A/N: I fell in love with this song, and racked my brain trying to make it into a fic. This is the result.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Look At Me" by Carrie Underwood. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

Elliot and Fin walked into the smoky, seedy club and met with the owner. He was a short man, but attractive enough, and he spoke with a heavy British accent. "Detectives, thank you _so_ much for coming in. I can't believe three of my girls have been raped in as many weeks. I've got a new girl starting tonight, and from her audition I knew that she was going to make me a load of money. If she's attacked tonight, that would be a tragedy for her, my wallet and the music lovers who come into this place. She's brilliant, you'll see."

The man walked briskly away and Elliot looked at Fin. "Cragen really wants us to sit in on the show, follow the girl out, like bodyguards? We don't prevent it we just investigate it. Isn't this Vice's job?"

"El, man, this is a serial rapist. If we can get him in the act, or before then, then it's an open and shut case. Cragen said the girl playing here tonight's a cop. We're using her as bait." Elliot sighed. "Makes sense."

"How are things with you and Baby-Girl?" Fin asked as the waiter brought them water.

Sipping his, Elliot cringed. "I think they're amazing, but she's got this wall, man, I can't get her to, I mean I _know_ she loves me, but I want her to _say_ it, ya know? I get that she isn't good with words and feelings, but she's the one. I've had this ring in my pocket for a year and I'm putting it on her finger the minute she _says_ she loves me." Fin opened his mouth to respond but the lights went out at the spotlight came up on the stage. The little British man was standing in front of the mic. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the Plum Tucker Blues Club tonight, I'm Tucker, your host. Tonight's entertainment hails from right here in New York City, and she's abso-bloody-lutely brilliant. Please, give a warm Plum Tucker welcome to...Olivia.

The crowd applauded, Elliot choked, Fin laughed and the curtain behind Tucker opened. Olivia was sitting behind a piano, hitting the keys lightly, testing the tuning of it. "Um, thank you. I've never had a live audience before, unless you count my goldfish." The audience laughed, Elliot was still speechless. Olivia continued. "I, uh, chose this song, because it puts into words what I can't. What I haven't been able to for years. I just hope he understands, and forgives me when I'm finished." She looked right at Elliot and said, "This is for you, El."

She began to play the most beautiful, slow, melody. As her fingers danced across the keys Elliot gasped. He had no idea she could play the piano. He was in for an even bigger surprise, because he didn't know she could sing, either. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and sang, _"I would bet my life like I bet my heart that you were the one, baby. I've never been so sure of anything before. You're driving my heart crazy. I can't hold out. I can't hold back now, like I've done before. Darling, look at me. I've fallen like a fool for you. Darling, can't you see I'd do anything you want me to? I tell myself I'm in too deep, then I fall a little farther every time you look at me."_

A tear rolled down Elliot's cheek and Fin smirked. His phone vibrated, so he coyly flipped it open under his jacket and read the text message from Cragen, who had asked if it was working. Fin quietly typed a quick "Think so. Bring in the back-up." and hit send as Olivia continued her beautiful song._"How do you do that, babe? Make me feel like I'm the only girl alive for you? __I don't know what it is that makes me fall like this. The first time in your arms, I knew. __The way you held me, I knew that this could be what I've been waiting to find." _

She rose from the piano as the host took over the playing, and grabbing the mic, she descended the steps, making her way toward Elliot, her eyes locked on his. She grabbed his hand off of the table and pulled him up as she sang, _"Darling, look at me. I've fallen like a fool for you. Darling, can't you see I'd do anything you want me to? I tell myself I'm getting in too deep, then I fall a little farther every time you look at me."_

The piano slowed it's tempo. Olivia touched her forehead to Elliot's and closed her eyes. She sang the last, slow, line of the song with one hand on the mic and the other wrapped around his neck. _"Every time you look at me"_ She dropped the mic and kissed him, deeply, as the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. She pulled away, slowly, and, as they were both crying happy tears and smiling, she looked him in the deep-sea-blue eyes and whispered, "I love you so, so much, Elliot. I just couldn't _say_ it because the words have _never _really meant anything because they've _never_ been said to me, until you. I wanted it to be special and I didn't want you to..." she couldn't finish her ramble because Elliot had kissed her again. Deeper than the first time.

They pulled apart, again very slowly, and Elliot looked from Olivia to Fin. "No way, _she_ is not going out _there_ to be bait for some _psycho_."

"No. She's not." Fin said, wiping a tear, not ready to admit that he was a big teddy bear. "We set you up, El. Olivia _planned_ this. There was no rapist, no sting op. She just wanted to get you here so she could make a big stink about telling you she loves you. Now, wait...isn't there something you said you were gonna do the minute she said it?"

"What? You...Fin I can't....Now? You know I'm supposed to do that with the kids and Cragen and..."

The lights came on and to Elliot's surprise, and Olivia's because she _hadn't_ planned _this_, the two tables closest to the stage were filled. One with the kids and one with Munch, Casey, Alex and Cragen. Fin held up his cell phone and jiggled it. "Gotta love text messaging."

**A/N: I think it's pretty clear she's gonna say yes. Reviews? Thoughts?**


	4. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

**A/N This song was requested by WeHaveACase. I Hope I make you happy!**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Slow Dancing in A Burning Room" by John Mayer. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

The four Stabler kids were sitting on the stairs, listening to their parents have, what they hoped would be, their last fight. They didn't care anymore if it meant reconciliation or divorce as long as this little, slow-dance they kept doing would stop. That's the best way to describe it. Elliot and Kathy Stabler were slow-dancing in a burning room, and they needed to stop before they burned to death.

_"It's not a silly little moment_, Kathleen. it's real, this is the last one, I can feel it." Dickie whispered to his sister as they peered out through the bars on the railing.

"Yeah, _it's not the storm before the calm_, either. They're not coming back from this one. Mom really messed up," Maureen added.

Elliot, oblivious to his children listening to every word, was pacing back and forth, yelling, "This is it, Kathy! _This is the deep and dying breath of this love that we've been working on._ Love, funny word, that is."

"Oh, come on, Elliot. You know _I can't seem to hold you like I want to! So I can feel you in my arms._ You always run to her when you need to be held!" Kathy cried, trying to make her affair his fault.

Elliot scoffed. "Oh, that's rich. Olivia has nothing to do with this. I never slept with her! Don't guilt me into forgiving you! _Nobody's gonna come and save you_, this time. _We pulled too many false alarms_, where you made me leave and come back then I left, and came back, well you're the one leaving this time_. I_ am kicking _you_ out."

Kathy dropped her head into her hands, letting out a frustrated cry. "What? You can't possibly! I'm sorry, Elliot! We can..."

"No, Kathy! _We're going down, and you can see it, too. We're going down, and you know that we're doomed. My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room_, and I'm not going to stand here until everything falls to ashes around me like you want me to." Elliot ran to the closet and pulled out a large suitcase, throwing it at Kathy's feet. "I packed you a bag. Go stay with your mother."

"Elliot, come on, you know _I was the one you always dreamed of_. What's changed, huh?" She said sweetly, inching toward him. Elliot put a defensive hand out to stop her. "No, Kathy. _You were the one I tried to draw_. To create. I tried to make you the one I wanted, force you to be who I needed. But, I guess I outgrew you."

Kathy kicked the suitcase and reached for the framed wedding photo on the shelf above her head. She threw it at Elliot and it shattered against the wall behind him. "So, this whole nineteen year marriage? It meant nothing to you?"

"_How dare you say it's nothing to me?_ Kathy, _you're the only light I ever saw_ up until...well, I mean, you walked away from this!" She strode over to him and glared at him. "Up until when, huh? Up until you met her, right? That bitch, Olivia?" She slapped him, hard, across the cheek. As she raised her hand to do it again he grabbed it. _"I'll make the most of all the sadness and you'll be a bitch because you can. You try to hit me just to hurt me, so, you leave me feeling dirty, because you can't understand_ that though I may have given my heart away to someone else long before you did, I never cheated on you. You slept with someone else, Kathy, and you are carrying his child and I can not, and will not, stay married to you and raise someone else's son."

Woah. The kids did not know that. "Mom's having a baby?" Lizzie asked. "And it's not dad's?" Dickie questioned. Maureen and Kathleen looked at each other and then simultaneously said, "Olivia!" Kathleen pulled out her cell phone and started texting, while lending an ear to the rest of the fight.

Kathy dropped her hand and walked away from Elliot, her head bowed and the tears starting to fall. "I really screwed up, huh?"

Elliot, feeling no compassion for her, said snidely. _"Go cry about it, why don't you?"_ He walked over to the front door and opened it, handing the packed suitcase back to Kathy. "This marriage was over a long time ago. I don't love you, Kathy. You don't love me. We couldn't make this work. _Don't you think we oughta know by now? Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?_"

Kathy picked up the suitcase as she nodded. "Yeah, we should have ended this years ago." She stepped through the door, she looked up and asked, "Are you going to fight for the kids?"

"Like Muhammad Ali, Kathy." Elliot was about to slam the door when she said, "I'm not. You can have them. I'll call." She walked down the steps and out of his life and he was actually relieved. He ran a hand through his hair and walked over to the broken picture. He started to pick up the pieces when the doorbell rang.

He ran over to the door with anger and hate in his eyes. "Kathy what do you..." Olivia threw her arms around him and squeezed, afraid to look at him. "Liv? What are you...how did you..."

The kids came running in, they saw her from the stairs, and they all hugged her greedily. Elliot looked on in shock as Maureen pulled Olivia into the living room and said "Thanks for coming so fast, he needs you. We need you." Olivia looked at the kids faces and smirked. "Okay, Dad's gonna need some coffee and how about we make some good old fashioned comfort food for dinner." The kids cheered and laughed. "Mo, here are my keys. You and Katie run to the store. We're gonna need chicken legs, bread crumbs and the biggest box of macaroni and cheese you can find."

"Awesome, Liv." Maureen said, running to get her wallet.

"Lizzie, Dickie, please go start some laundry because Daddy's a little stinky, if ya know what I'm sayin'." Olivia made a funny face and the twins laughed as Elliot sniffed his shirt discreetly. He did smell kind of, uh, manly. "Oh! Mo! Get a pie." Olivia looked at Elliot. "We're gonna need pie."

"We're on it, Liv!" Maureen yelled. The kids ran off to fulfill their respective duties. Olivia smiled at them and turned when she caught something shimmer out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, my God. She threw this at you, didn't she?" Olivia ran over to the corner and picked up the shards of broken glass and porcelain."

"Liv, baby, what are you doing?" Elliot said as he walked over and knelt down beside her, rubbing her knee gently.

Olivia blinked once at him and then smiled her warmest smile. "What does it look like, El? I'm helping you pick up the pieces."

**A/N: I'm not familiar with the song, so...how'd I do? **


	5. Still Breathing

**A/N: AU: No Kathy, ergo, no kids. What if Olivia walked into work and sees Elliot's desk empty? She calls him, doesn't give him the chance to explain, and lets her feelings fly!**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Still Breathing" by Alison Iraheta. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

The last year had been amazing. She was actually, and she was afraid to admit it, happy. Elliot was an amazing man. An incredible partner and, she found out a year ago, the most passionate, romantic, loving human being in the world and _damn_ did he know how to work that muscular body of his in bed.

She walked into the precinct, a smile on her face, signed in at the desk, and bounded joyfully up the stairs. She stepped into the bullpen of the Special Victims Unit and her face fell as her eyes landed on the bare-as-bones metal desk in front of hers. She dropped the coffee she'd been holding. "Oh, God!" Her hands shot to her head, thinking the worst, and she squeezed the bridge of her nose. "_I need an asprin." _She looked at Fin. Then at Munch. _ "Over…you…_where is…"

Munch ran to get paper towels to clean up the coffee as Fin ran to Olivia's side. "Baby-Girl, do you know what day it…"

Olivia pushed him away from her and pulled out her phone, pressing the number one on her speed dial. Elliot answered with a bright, "Hey, Liv, I…"

She cut him off. "What the fuck? You son of a bitch…are you getting even? For Oregon? It worked, okay? I've been here for three seconds I can't fucking breathe, Elliot! _Until you left, I never knew what my heart was going through. _I have come way too far with you _and I never wanna go back, but, if this is some sick twist of fate, I would rather rest in peace,_ you're killing me, El. DNR,_ please do not resuscitate._"

"Liv, what the hell are you talking about?" Elliot asked, shouting through the line.

Panicking, running her fingers through her hair and trying not cry, she yelled right back. "Christ, Elliot, I'm not going to let you do this! You can't…no, you know what? I'm not going to give you the satisfaction. _I'm still breathing! Don't you think I'm not because you're leaving."_

"Christ, Liv! Who's leaving? You're not making any…"

Olivia, not one to lose an argument, screamed into the phone. "Jesus, Stabler! You had me going, really. I thought we…I was ready to marry…and now you're…fuck. Elliot, I love you! I have never let myself go that far before. Screw you, El._ You're never gonna see me grieving. I'm moving up and away. I'm not crying. Funny, I'm not even trying. Never gonna lay down, I'm breathing much better, the air is much clearer over you." _She snapped the phone shut and threw it onto her desk, watching in bitter amusement as the screen shattered and the battery went flying.

Captain Cragen came out of his office, carrying a large box, with a sheepish grin on his face. "Um, okay, uh, I'm moving up to the new office, now, so, uh, I'll see you guys at department meetings and I'll come down at visit, a lot. I'm gonna miss this place."

Olivia sniffled and looked up at Fin and Munch, who were still staring at her in shock, and her Captain, who looked like he missed something very important. "What?"

"Baby-Girl, I was trying to tell you when you came in, you must have forgotten because it's been crazy around here, Cragen's the new Chief of Detectives." Fin told her, hoping it would spark something about why Elliot's desk was vacant.

"I know, we had the big party and everything," she said wiping her eyes.

Munch rolled his eyes. "Do you remember what _else_ was announced at the big party?"

Olivia's gasped, but before she could say anything a voice came from the doorway. "Someone please tell me why my fiancée just..." he stopped when he saw her at her desk, slumped over. "Liv?" Elliot, wearing his new Captain's uniform, ran over to her. "Why the hell were you screaming at me? I was at a press conference, people were looking at me like I was nuts!"

Olivia's eyes widened and then narrowed as she grew embarrassed and more tears started to fall. "I am an idiot! A big, dumb, stupid, pregnant, idiot! I completely panicked when I saw everything gone and I forgot that it was _today_ because of all the excitement. I am so sorry! For everything I said," she cried into his shoulder as she threw her arms around him.

Elliot sighed in relief and chuckled lightly as he held her in his arms. He pushed her off of him so he could look into her eyes, wiping away her tears as he said, "Oh, honey! You are not a big, dumb, stupid, pregnant idi…what? Wait! Woah! Pregnant?" his eyes were as big as dinner plates and his heart was racing.

Olivia nodded and bit her bottom lip. "I guess that's why I overreacted. Hormones and emotions and all."

Elliot looked at her, a nervous laugh escaping from his mouth, "I'm gonna be a daddy?" Olivia smirked and nodded again. Elliot pulled her into his arms, picked her up and spun her around in the air, before saying, "That is so_ fucking_ cool." He brushed the hair out of her face and wiped away a tear. _"You still with me, breathing?"_

"_Yeah. Breathing much better now," _Olivia responded, kissing him one last time before for his first day as Captain, and expectant father, officially began.

**A/N: This song could make such an amazing "break-up" fic, but I don't have the heart to write it! Thoughts on this one, though? **


	6. Something More

**A/N: A Holiday songishfic? Woah! This will be posted in BOTH series' of mine. Sorry if you read it twice. Set the Christmas after Serena died. I've also changed something else, you'll see.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Christmas Must Be Something More" by Taylor Swift. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Stabler house, the only creatures that were stirring were Elliot, wrapping some large, last minute gifts for his kids, and Olivia, sitting idly by with a cup of cocoa in her hands and a tape dispenser, begrudgingly helping her recently divorced partner of five years participate in what she considered to be an archaic and patronizing ritual.

"Tape," he spat, holding out his hand. Olivia ripped a length of the sticky plastic off and handed it to him and watched in awe as he pressed it firmly to the package, making it virtually invisible. He couldn't sign his DD5's in straight lines but he could wrap a Christmas present fucking perfectly. He beamed with pride as he held up the intricately wrapped gift at Olivia, who just nodded with the barest hint of a smirk.

"Oh, come on, Liv! This is fucking Gift-Wrap-Gold right here. If it were an Olympic event I'd kick major ass!" Her expression didn't change, she just shrugged her shoulders. He scooted closer and rested his chin on her knee. "Okay, what gives, Ms. Scrooge?"

"I know you're trying, El, but forcing me to join in all your little reindeer games isn't really doing much. It's actually reminding me why I think Christmas kinda bites." She took another sip of her cocoa and absentmindedly ran a hand trough Elliot's hair.

"Care to elaborate?" he said, snuggling further into her lap.

"Okay, take that box. You just spent fifteen minutes covering it with pretty paper and a golden bow that was, what, ten bucks? _What if ribbons and bows didn't mean a thing_?" She peered down at him and saw that his brow had furrowed. She put her cocoa down on the end table and continued her line of questioning. "And those stupid songs? The Twelve days of Christmas? I don't want my true love giving me all those goddamn birds and leaping lords and milking maids, and _would the song still survive without five golden rings?_ And the other crap traditions, too, I mean if you're stuck under a stupid plant with someone, take a good look at them. _Would you still wanna kiss without mistletoe?"_

Elliot chuckled and nuzzled her leg, not grasping how serious she was about hating the holiday. Then, when he saw the distant expression in her eyes, he knew. She asked him,_ "What would happen if God never let it snow_ for you, and there was no white Christmas, no winter wonderland or Frosty the goddamn snowman? _What would happen_, El, _if Christmas carols told a lie_, and there was no peace on your Earth, no joy in your world or angels watching over you? _Tell me, what would you find?_ Because, I can't find shit."

"Liv?" he asked, popping his head up. He rose from his spot on the floor and sat beside her on the sofa, wrapped a loving arm around her and let her continue. "Elliot, _what if angels didn't pay attention to all the things we wished they would always do?_" A tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away. "Liv, what …where is all this coming from?" She just shook her head and sniffled.

"_What if happiness just came in a cardboard box_," she said pointing at the perfect presents under the beautiful tree. Elliot brushed the hair off of her face and replied, _"Well, then I think there's something we all forgot."_ She snickered, but the tears didn't stop. _"El, what would happen if presents all went away?_ I mean, _we get so caught up in all of it, in business and relationships,_ well most people have relationships, and _we lead these_ _hundred-mile-an-hour lives._"

"But, Liv," Elliot interrupted, "_It's that time of year, when everybody's here, so that should be the last thing on your mind!"_

"Oh, El. You don't understand. I know that it's supposed to be _this day that holds something special, something holy, not superficial_." She picked up her cocoa and scoffed, making a mock toast through her tears. _"So, here's to Jesus Christ, who saved our lives!_"

"Liv, you know that's not…"

"_I know, it's something we all try to ignore, put a wreath up on the door, but, here's something I know for sure._ This…my point is…I've never had a reason, a real reason, as to why this holiday is so goddamn special, because to me it's always been about taking care of my drunk mother while no one took care of me, and Christmases just fucking sucked. So, now that I don't have to worry about her anymore, I think _Christmas must be something more."_

Elliot pulled Olivia into his arms and let her cry into his chest. When she finished sobbing, minutes later, he lifted her chin with a finger and peered into her eyes. "Hey, Liv, Christmas is whatever you want it to be, in your heart, what you feel means the most to you. What brings you joy? Who do you love the most, Liv? Those are the people and things that make Christmas bright, not presents, no matter how awesomely wrapped they are, or silly songs."

Olivia bowed her head and pulled away from him, laughing, discouraged. "What, what'd I say? I thought that was pretty good? I thought I did good, right there," Elliot said trying to pull her back toward him playfully.

"El, you did. What you said was beautiful. It just doesn't do much to help me."

"Well, why not, Liv?" he asked, taking her hand.

Olivia looked up at him and sighed. "Because, El, if I take your advice, and let the things and people that I love the most, which coincidentally are the same, become the meaning of Christmas…El, how the hell are _you_ Christmas?"

Elliot's eyes widened and a slow smile spread across his face. "Easy, Liv," he said, suddenly pulling her into a heart-stopping kiss. "The same way you are."

**A/N: Awww. I want an Elliot for Christmas. Don't you? What'd you think?**


	7. This One's For The Girls

**A/N: Hmm. So, what happens when the SVU ladies go out to celebrate being hot, young, and single in the city? Someone bursts their bubble, that's what! **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its Characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "This One's For The Girls" by Mertina McBride. Storyline, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©**

Olivia, Casey, Alex and Melinda sat around a round table in Viggo's Martini Bar. They were half-plasters already and they had no intention of slowing down. They had making random toasts that had been getting weirder and weirder as they became more and more inebriated, and they knew they were all trashed when Alex stood up, holding her Long Island Iced Tea, with a twist, tapped it loudly with a spoon, and no one stopped her.

"Attention, people, and people who might not be people! My good friend, Oliver…wait…no, it's a girl…Olivia with an 'ahhh'. She is…well I kind of forgot what she's doing, but we're drinking because of it, so it's good, whatever it is! So, yay to her! I would like to make a toast! Not just to her, but to all the ladies in this room, who, like her, had shitty moms, who didn't help you through those rough teenage years. _This is to all you girls, about thirteen. High school can be so rough, it can be so mean. Hold on to…on to your innocence. Stand your ground when everybody's giving in!_ Like ol' Oliver here did!"

Melinda, laughing hysterically, stood up, too, and raised her glass. "Yeah! And, hey! What about how she put herself through school and lived off of ramen soup and ketchup? My toast, to that girl right there," she said pointing at Olivia, " _and this is for all you girls about twenty-five, in little apartments, just trying to survive, living on…on dreams! And …uh, Spaghettios! Wondering where your life is gonna go!_ _This one's for the girls!"_ She swung her drink back in one gulp and people around them nervously clapped as Olivia and Casey cackled.

Casey, tossing back her drink before she stood up, wobbled as she rose, and giggled. "Well, thankfully we aren't this old yet, but we'll get there one day, so _this is for all you girls, around forty-two. Tossing pennies into the fountain of youth?_ _Every laugh,"_ she paused to hiccup. _"Laugh line on your face makes you who you are today!"_

Finally, clapping, giggling, laughing and crying from all the laughing, Olivia stood, nearly tipping over, and looked around. "Wow, uh, thank you, girls, for that charming display of alcohol induced affection. My toast, in return, is in honor of this night." She passed around shot glasses filled with a clear, pink drink. "You're all young and beautiful and I am honored to have you in my life, as my very best friends." She held her glass high and announced, _"This one's for the girls who've ever had a broken heart, who've wished upon a shooting star. You're beautiful the way you are. For the girls who love without holding back, who dream with everything they have, all around the world! This one's for my girls!"_ She held up her shot glass, as did the other three ladies, and gulped it back, licking her lips and smirking, slamming the glass down on the table.

Alex, laughing and crying, pulled the girls into a group hug, to which they all greedily responded. "With all this drinking, and toasting, and laughing and crying, I forgot why we came out tonight!"

"Not that I need a reason to hang out with you ladies! But, remember that toast Casey made when we first got here?" Olivia asked as she twiddled her fingers.

Melinda whooped, causing the people who were still staring at them to stare even harder. "Yeah! She's was all like 'To being hot, sexy and single in the city' and then she drank three Screwdrivers and made the same toast again."

The girls laughed and clapped, and Olivia looked at them nervously. "Yeah, well, I'm not."

Casey looked her and hiccupped. "Not what? You're totally hot and sexy and…"

"Not single," she said as she flashed her left hand at the table, the three ladies suddenly stopping their laughing and sliming.

"What is on your finger?" Alex asked, peering closely and grabbing Olivia's hand.

"Um, well, it's an…." she was interrupted when a strikingly handsome, incredibly muscular man waltzed up to the table and kissed her, a good, solid, scorching kiss. "Okay, wow, incredible kiss but, you taste like you've had a few too many of whatever this is," he said as he picked up a large, tall glass with an umbrella in it. "Did you tell them?"

"I was about to when you cam in and…" Again, Olivia was interrupted when her three best friends squealed and giggled.

"Stabler, you devil!" Melinda cried. "When did you ask her?"

"Last night. We went to dinner with the kids and it was just…perfect," Olivia replied, arms firmly wrapped around Elliot's waist.

Casey smiled gently at Olivia and Elliot and said, "Okay, Stabler, since you're late, you make the final toast of the evening."

Elliot, always a man of few words, looked at his fiancée's half empty glass of fruity-looking liquor, glanced at the ladies, smiled and said, _"This one's for the girls." _

**A/N: I thought the ending was cute, but, maybe not? I want your opinion!**


	8. Lucky

**A/N: So, this is probably going to be my wedding song, and I HAD to find a way to make it E/O. I think it came out adorable. Lemme know by clicking the green button and making it sing!**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. Original plot, narrative and dialogue by TStabler©**

Olivia looked out over the deck and sighed. They were in paradise. The perfectly blue ocean that matched Elliot's eyes, the sunset that would have been romantic if he had been holding her, the sound of the clinking glass...wait...what?

"Straight up, guys, this is the best night I've had in a long time and I wanna thank all of you guys for being here for me and Case. I know it took a lot to get you all to fly out here for the weekend, but we couldn't do this without all of you here. The rehearsal went perfectly and _this_ is just so much fuckin' fun I think I could cry," Fin said holding up his beer. The squad from the Manhattan SVU, including Captain Cragen, who was in the bathroom for the fifth time tonight, had gone to Mahalo's, a tropical themed karaoke bar, to celebrate. Fin and Casey were getting married the next afternoon on the beach.

"My thoughts exactly," Casey added, kissing Fin on the cheek. "Speaking of fuckin' fun...Olivia you haven't gotten up there yet!"

"And it is going to stay that way you drunken bride, you," Olivia said with a laugh.

"Oh, come on, we already signed you up, you're on in like two songs!" the slightly inebriated bride-to-be giggled.

Olivia coughed once, and then she gave Casey her "perp-hurtin'" face. "Did you just tell me that because you know I'm unarmed?"

Alex, looking offended, said, "Hey! I got up there! And Munch has been up there seven times!"

"Well, Alex, you're drunk, and your boyfriend is not exactly normal," Olivia said chuckling and tossing a bit of pineapple at Alex.

Alex found it, in Munch's lap, and picked it up, popping it her mouth as she said, "Well, would you go up there if one of us went up with you?"

Olivia thought about, sipping her drink. "Well, I guess it might make it a bit..."

"Good, because we put Elliot's name down, too, so, he's singing with you," Casey said, cutting her off.

"Okay, _so _not what I meant!" Olivia's eyes popped out of her head as Elliot, sitting next to her choked on his beer.

"How, exactly, did I get sucked into this?" he asked with wide eyes, to Munch.

Munch shrugged. "You have a penis," he offered.

The announcer, a stout little native Hawaiian man, called Olivia and Elliot up to the platform and they both shot the rest of the table very evil, threatening looks. Casey and Alex laughed hysterically as Cragen came back to his seat. "Are you at least gonna tell us what we're singing?" Elliot asked worriedly.

"Nope," Casey and Alex chimed together, clinking their glasses.

"I missed something," Cragen muttered to Munch.

Munch looked at Casey and Alex, who looked at each other knowingly, and replied, "I think we both did, Cap."

Elliot and Olivia took to the stage, each getting a microphone, and stared at the little screen. When the title of the song came up, Olivia, right into the mic, said,"As soon as I get down, I'm killing the both of you!"

"But then who am I supposed to marry tomorrow?" Fin asked in a shout.

Munch blew him a kiss and said, "Me, baby." Fin threw another piece of fruit at Munch, which Alex found and ate.

"Shut up," Casey spat. "I wanna watch this!"

Elliot leaned over and whispered to Olivia, "It'll be over in like four minutes, and I'm _right_ here with you. We're making asses out of ourselves _together_." He winked at her and she just about melted.

They heard three little beats and then Elliot sang. _"Do you hear me? I'm talkin' to you. Across the water, across the deep blue ocean. Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm tryin'." _Oh, God. Who knew he could sing like that?

Olivia, her brain a puddle of goo, opened her mouth praying that the words would follow. _"Boy I hear you in my dreams. I feel your whisper across the sea. I keep you with me in my heart. You make it easier when life gets hard."_

Elliot, too, was mesmerized by her voice. They turned to look at each other and it was either a blessing, a huge mistake or both. Elliot took Olivia's hand and they, like they always did, in every aspect of their partnership, harmonized beautifully. _"I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. Ooohh, ooooh oooh, oooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh." _All the silly "ohh"-ing made them giggle and laugh, because Elliot doesn't giggle, and then Elliot, looking right into her eyes, taking her breath away, sang to her. _"They don't know how long it takes waiting for a love like this. Every time we say goodbye..."_ Olivia joined him on the rest of the phrase, meaning every word. _"I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will."_

They took a step toward each other and started swaying to the music, suddenly forgetting they had an audience, these words rang true for them and meant so much. They really were best friends, and they had been in love for so long, but something had always been holding them back. And as they sang the chorus, Elliot took Olivia's hand and placed it over his heart, which was beating quite rapidly. _"I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. Ooohh, ooooh, oooh, oooh, ooh, ooh ooh, ooh." _

Letting go of her hand and stepping back a bit, Elliot reached down to the table in front of the platform they were on and grabbed the Hibiscus flower from the vase in the center of it, twirling it between his fingers. _"And so I'm sailing through the sea to an island where we'll meet. You'll hear the music fill the air. I'll put a flower in your hair,"_ he sang as he slid the gorgeous pink flower behind her ear into her dark chocolate locks.

She smiled, her most radiant smile, blushing a bit and sang, _"Though the breezes through the trees move so pretty, you're all I see. As the world keeps spinning round __you hold me right here, right now."_ As those words rolled off her lips Elliot pulled her in front of him and wrapped an arm around her waist, swaying with her. He let go for a moment, brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed it gently, a gesture she returned. They sang the chorus one last time looking, intensely, into each others eyes. _"I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. Ooohh, ooooh, oooh, oooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. So lucky." _

Thunderous applause filled the room, but so did the sound of two falling microphones and screeching feedback. Elliot and Olivia, hands cupping each other's faces, smiled and leaned in towards the most meaningful kiss of their lives. When she pulled away, and heard that everyone was still clapping, Olivia blushed, her cheeks matching the flower in her hair. "Oh, wow," she said.

"Yeah," Elliot agreed.

Olivia furrowed her brow. "So, was that just a fun way to end the song, or are we..."

"No, we _definitely_ are. I love you, Liv," he said, kissing her again. The cheers, that had just quieted down, had erupted again.

Olivia laughed against his lips and pulled away, albeit reluctantly. "Maybe we should get off the stage."

"Yeah, maybe," he said, smirking at her.

As they stepped down and headed back to their table, Olivia turned around. "Oh, El?"

"Yeah?" he said pulling out her chair.

"I love you, too." She sent him a look, and a wink, and almost as if they had planned it, which of course they had, at that very moment, Olivia and Elliot picked up the remaining bits of pineapple off of their fruit platter and threw them violently at Casey and Alex, who laughed and tried to swat at the tropical invasion. "That's for making us sing, knowing that it would make us kiss in front of all these people! Consider it a thank you," Olivia said.

Munch, trying not to laugh at his fruit covered girlfriend, simply reached into her lap, picked up a piece of the sweet, yellow fruit and popped it into his mouth. "Payback's a bitch, Alex."

**A/N: And there you have it, folks. Reviews? Anyone? Hullo? **


	9. Love Story

**A/N: This was requested two years ago in a forum, so I'm giving it a shot. I hop it goes well for ya, LivvyBear93. As always, an untraditional songfic.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "Love Story" by Katherine McPhee. Storyline, dialogue and narrative belong to TStabler. **

Elliot was in a small room, with Munch, Fin, his two brothers and his son, Dickie. They were all wearing suits, and they all looked very elegant. Elliot had tears in his eyes, but for some reason, he couldn't let himself cry. There was a knock on the door, and Captain Cragen, also in a suit, came in.

"Sorry to, uh, interrupt, but I was asked to give you this, Elliot. She wants you to read it. Now," Cragen said with a shy smile. Then he patted Dickie on his head and left.

"Man," Dickie cried. "He always does that! Now my hair's gonna look all stupid."

Fin walked over and hit him on the shoulder. "Your hair's fine kid, have a little respect for what we're doin' here, would ya?"

Elliot, his hand shaking, opened the letter. He gasped when he saw the unmistakable scrawl of an all too familiar handwriting.

"Dearest Elliot, _I think it was the summertime when I laid eyes on you. I didn't even know your name. Somehow, we'd end up in the same room..." _He remembered exactly what she was talking about.

* * *

"Hey, can I borrow your pen?" the gorgeous brunette next to him asked.

Elliot fished around in his pocket. "Sure, uh, here." He handed her a silver ball point pen and watched as she signed her name, so elegantly, on the forms in the lobby of the precinct. "What unit are you coming into?"

"You'll find out soon enough, right? Everyone knows everything around here," she said as she bounded up the stairs. A few minutes and a painfully slow elevator ride later, he walked into the bullpen. They had no air conditioning, again, and it was the hottest day of the year.

"Damn it, stupid, cheap, plastic pens. Stabler, can I borrow a pen?" Munch asked. "I have to sign this DD5 now or Cragen'll have my ass."

"Oh, yeah, uh....oh, shit! I gave to a girl downstairs and I...don't know where she is." He slapped his forehead in frustration. "I didn't even get her name."

Captain Cragen came out of his office and yelled, "Stabler, in here. Now."

"I haven't even been here for five fucking minutes," he mumbled as he ran into the office. "Look, Cap, whatever it is I didn't..."

"This is your new partner, Olivia Benson," Cragen said as Olivia stood up. She held out her hand and her eyes sparkled. A smirk slid across her face.

Elliot's eyes glinted and gleamed, too, and he grinned. "Hi, there."

"Hey. I think this is yours," she said as she handed him his pen.

* * *

Snapping back to reality, and the present, he continued reading the letter in front of him. _"...It never crossed my mind. I never saw you like that. I should have listened to my best friend, she knew we'd be a perfect match." _Again, he recalled the story. Olivia had told him this one, numerous times. They'd only been partners for a year, and Alex thought Olivia had a crush on him and was trying to get her to make a move. Olivia, though, staunch, stubborn, and moral, refused.

* * *

"You two would be perfect together, Benson. You're already the best of friends!" Alex chirped as she bit into a turkey sandwich.

Olivia tried not to choke on her salad. "We'd be perfect together if he wasn't married, Alex! With children! Maybe, if he was single, and had less of a temper, and was less of a smartass, and was less thick-headed, less macho, less chauvinistic, less overprotective of me, less 'Liv-can't-do-it-cause-she'll-get-hurt', and I dunno...less married!"

"Oh, please. Welcome to the twentieth century, Olivia! Go for it, anyway!" Alex coaxed.

"Are you on drugs? Look, Elliot and I are just partners. Friends. That's it," Olivia said, drinking her mineral water very quickly.

Alex shrugged. "I still say you two together would be...epic."

* * *

Elliot laughed as he remembered Olivia's retelling of the story. Then he read the next part of the letter and he flushed. _"I always made up some excuse, saying that you weren't my type. Didn't wanna face the truth, didn't wanna cross that line." _He was hoping she would have forgotten that night, up in the cribs, when he almost ruined them forever.

* * *

"Liv?" he prodded, shaking her awake.

"Wha...what? What time is it?" she asked groggily.

Elliot rested a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "It's almost three," he said.

"In the morning? What the hell, Elliot? Go home and let me go back to sleep!" She shrugged him off and turned, but he grabbed her shoulder again.

"No, Liv. I need to say this, and if I don't say it now, I never will," he cried, almost desperately.

She shot up in panic. "Are you okay? What happened? Are you all right? Is it Kathy? One of the kids? All of the kids?"

"No," he laughed, loving the way she was so concerned. "Nothing like that, I just...God, I want you, Liv." He brushed her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "I need you. Like I need air."

He was sure she had just lost five years off her life, the way she turned white so fast. She had told him, later, that had he been sober, and had the divorce been final, she would have jumped him right then and there. Instead, though, she just looked at him and said, "You, my friend, are drunk."

"I get very honest when I'm drunk, Liv. Just...one night. Here. Now." He leaned in to kiss her but she stopped him, her heart breaking in the process. "El, come on. Don't do this. Not like this. Besides, you're, uh, not my type."

"That's bullshit, Liv. You want me as much as I want you," and then his mouth was on hers and, through the rum and the vodka, she could taste the truth. She pushed him off, though, even though she didn't want to.

"Elliot! No! Go home, to your wife. Before we cross a line that we're not prepared to cross."

He blinked, licked his lips, remembering how sweet she tasted, and he left.

* * *

The letter, in his still-shaking hands, went on to say that though she refused him that night, she never forgot his declaration. That he had wanted and needed her. He read the next line and choked again, this time in disgust. _"Till one day I saw you at the corner of my eye. You were flirting with some girl and inside I thought I would die."_ He still couldn't believe she saw him kiss Dani. He couldn't believe she got so jealous. It did, however, make Olivia realize how much she loved him. He remembered overhearing the conversation.

* * *

"Alex, I don't know what I just saw, and I don't think I want to," Olivia cried on her friend's shoulder out in the hallway.

Alex, confused, just held her. "Olivia, hey, sweetie. What...what happened?"

"I thought that...I mean, I thought that it would be me, after Kathy, but he was...he kissed....her. That....bitch."

"What? Who kissed...Elliot? That Beck woman?" Alex gasped.

Olivia, hurt and angry, just vowed her revenge. "I'm going to kill her. And then I'm going to make his life a living hell. And then...did I mention I'm going to kill her?"

It was explained to Olivia, over drinks, the following night, that the kiss between Elliot and Dani Beck had meant nothing.

As soon as his divorce from Kathy was final, six months after their awkard kiss in the cribs, Elliot asked Olivia to dinner, while he was sober, and the rest, as they say, is history.

* * *

The next part of the letter finally got those tears to fall. _"I can't believe it's really happening, my prince under disguise! How you fooled me with those eyes. When I feel like letting go, in your arms is where I know I'm wrong. From the beginning we always belonged. It's a typical love story. We started out as friends. This is how it ends. The boy you never wanted just steals your heart. I never saw it coming, till I fell so hard."_

"Dad!" Dickie yelled. "I've been calling you for the last five minutes! That must be one heck of a letter! Come on, everyone's waiting for us."

Elliot and the rest of the guys stepped out into the elaborately decorated hall. The men, and Dickie, lined up at the front and Elliot stood in the middle. He'd been so wrapped up in reading the letter that he didn't have time to be nervous. Maybe that was her plan. Maybe that's why she wrote it.

The doors at the very back opened, and Eli ran down the white carpet, carrying a tiny pillow with two black boxes strapped to it. The little girl behind him, Melinda's daughter, was tossing rose petals by the handful. She had only walked halfway down when she ran out, so she ran all the way back, picked them up and started throwing them from where she left off. Lizzie walked out first, followed by Maureen, then Kathleen. Elliot's sister came out next, then Melinda, Casey, her big baby-belly tucked snugly into her dress, walked out behind her, followed by Alex, the maid of honor. Then, the moment of truth, the Wedding March began to play and Captain Don Cragen came in arm-in-arm with Olivia. He had tears in his eyes as he walked the woman he considered a daughter down the aisle, toward the man he thought of as a son.

As they met, and Cragen slipped Olivia's hand into Elliot's, Eliot smiled and whispered, "I got your letter, baby. I loved it. But, you were wrong about one thing."

Whispering back, hoping the priest wouldn't notice, Olivia asked, "Wrong? About what?"

Preparing to take his vows, to make a promise to spend the rest of his life with Olivia, the woman he loved with all of his heart he said, "This is not the end of our love story, Liv. It's only the beginning."

**A/N: Hmmm? How'd I do with it LivvyBear? Comment?**


	10. Invisible

**A/N: Another unconventional Songfic for this series. It was a request from a friend, and I chose to do another letter, because I think it seemed like something Liv would write to El. **

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters are owned by Dick Wolf. Song is "Invisible" by Taylor Swift. Story, dialogue and narrative owned and protected by TStabler©**

She was in the pit of the interrogation room, watching them through the two-way mirror. She knew they couldn't see her, and she knew she had no right to watch. But she loved to see them fight. It gave her hope that maybe, one day, it would be over between them. That one day, it would be her he'd come home to at night.

It had been like this for months, now. Olivia would stand by and watch as Elliot would watch Kathy just walk away from their arguments, like he was mentally begging her to turn around, but she never would. Without Kathy around, Elliot was a completely different person. Happy, content, and dare she say it? Sexy. He _flirted_ with her _relentlessly_. She flirted right back. Olivia resented Kathy for ignoring all of the amazing things Elliot had, and could offer, and the love and life and light that he encompassed and reflected. Even as merely his partner and his friend, Olivia could feel all of those things and she held them so close to her heart. She wanted _more_, and if Kathy didn't want him anymore then Olivia would gladly take him off her hands.

Snapping back to reality, she saw it happen. Elliot took the gold band off of his finger and threw it at Kathy, yelling something she couldn't hear through the soundproof glass, because out of respect she didn't turn the audio monitor on. Olivia was stunned. She was shocked, almost relieved, until Kathy started crying and Elliot gave her that defeated look, as if to say "Okay, you win, I'll stay." Olivia knew they'd just never give up, so she had to be the one to throw in the towel. She walked out of the pit before she could see that Elliot had walked away. For good.

By the time the fighting was over and Elliot had made it back to his desk, Olivia was writing diligently. Probably paperwork. A DD5 on a case he knew nothing about because he'd been preoccupied. He went to bathroom and when he came back, Olivia was gone. There was an envelope on his desk, though, with his name on it, in the perfect, artistic calligraphy of Olivia's. He smiled as he opened it.

_El._

_She can't see the way your eyes light up when you smile. She'll never notice how you stop and stare whenever she walks by. And you can't see me wanting you the way you want her, and you are everything to me. There's a fire inside of you that can't help but shine through. She's never gonna see the light no matter what you do. And all I think about is how to make you think of me, and everything that we could be. I just wanna show you that she don't even know you. She's never gonna love you like I want to. But, you just see right through me, and if you only knew then we could be a beautiful miracle. Unbelievable. Instead of just invisible._

The letter wasn't signed, but he knew it was from Olivia.

"Munch, when did she leave?" Elliot asked the scrawny man to his left.

"Kathy?" Munch asked, furrowing his brow.

Elliot shook his head, still dumbstruck. "No, Liv."

Munch's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, about five minutes ago, when you were in the crapper."

"Thanks." Elliot folded the letter, shoved it into his pocket and bolted. If he ran, as fast as he could, he could catch up to her before she made it to the corner where she usually got her cab. He jetted out of the precinct without signing out, which meant he'd be clocked in for overtime, but it didn't matter, he was getting the girl.

Every time his feet hit the sidewalk underneath him his heart pounded faster. He was gonna miss her if he didn't run faster. But then, he _saw _her. She was a few feet ahead, stopping at the corner. Her arm shot up in the air. Shit. He ran faster and harder, begging his body to push itself beyond every limit it had. He saw a yellow cab stop in front of her, and just as her hand grabbed the door handle, he grabbed her hand.

He made it. She looked up at him. Her eyes were red. Her cheeks were tear stained. She looked back down at her hand, covered with his.

"Hey," Elliot said to the cabbie. "Sorry, we'll catch the next one." He lifted Olivia's hand off the handle and then watched the yellow car pull away.

She peered up at him, confusion in her eyes. "Elliot, I..."

"Wait," he said. "Just listen." He pulled out the letter and held it up with a shaky hand. "Liv, you were _never_ invisible. My eyes only light up when I smile, when I'm smiling at _you._ I stop and stare when she walks by because I'm scared she'll see me _staring_ at _you_. I don't _want her_ anymore, I haven't for a long time. The fire inside of me only burns because of _you_, Liv. I think about you, and everything we could be, every minute of every day of my life. She will never know me the way you do and I'm _glad_ for that. I didn't know you loved me the way....the way I love you, and I would _love_ it if you showed me, Liv. I have _never_ seen right through you, not the way you _think_ I have. I _know _we could be a beautiful miracle. We _are_ gonna be unbelievable." He crashed his mouth onto hers and nine years of love, devotion, longing and dedication passed through his lips and his tongue and into her body through to her very soul. If a kiss could cause an earthquake, this one did, because they both felt the ground move beneath their feet.

Elliot pulled away, slowly, and Olivia's eyes lit up, as she looked deeply into his. Her heart burst, but she was still confused. "But, I saw you and Kathy..."

He interrupted her again. "Fighting over custody of the kids, Liv. I signed the divorce papers and she's pissed at me for it, and now she's even angrier that I'm fighting her tooth and nail for my children. It's over."

"You ran after me," she said, as if she had just realized he was out of breath and red-cheeked.

"Yeah, I did," he said with a laugh and a nod. "You can't write something like this to me and not expect an immediate reply, Liv." With that, he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers once again and, this time, her hands wrapped around his neck, she pulled him closer, and deepened the kiss. The only thing that was invisible to Elliot was the world around him as he and Olivia became the beautiful, unbelievable miracle they both knew they always would be.

**A/N: Short, sweet and to the point. Thoughts? Any song requests? **


	11. For Good

**A/N Ah, another contemporary songfic. Kids are here! Yay! R/R**

**DISCALIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song is "For Good" from the musical Wicked. Story, narrative and dialogue belong to TStabler©!**

"Lizzie, if you don't hold still you're going to be 'Glinda the Good but Full of Holes'," Olivia said, trying to sew the hem on the poufy pink dress Elliot's youngest daughter was wearing.

"Sorry, Liv," Lizzie said. "I'm just trying to remember the words and what we're supposed to do."

Olivia chuckled, pulling the needle through the pink chiffon. "Honey, it's your school variety show, not Broadway, I'm sure you're going to be the most fabulous ones out there!"

Dickie came in, dressed like a flying monkey, and everyone in the room laughed. "Oh, thanks, nice. I do something nice to help out my sisters and you laugh at me," he said folding his arms.

"Dickie, no one is laughing at you. We're laughing at your tail," Olivia said trying desperately not to chuckle.

"Yeah, and your wings. And your whiskers." Kathleen couldn't help it, she burst out in hysterics, causing everyone else to join in.

"Hey, at least I'm not in a fluffy dress," he yelled pointing at Lizzie. "Or green!" He stuck his tongue out at Kathleen.

Kathleen glared, pointing a green finger at him. "Bite me, _Dick_."

"Hey," Olivia yelled, standing up. "Now, I thought we agreed, today at least, you were not to argue. You are going to go out there and pretend you like each other." She turned to Dickie. "That includes you, monkey-boy!"

The kids all nodded and apologized, and in the hustle they didn't see Elliot watching them from the back-door.

"Okay, Lizzie's ripped hem is fixed, Kathleen is as wicked as they come, and you, young Stabler, are one fine looking monkey. Now, if I had any idea where your father was, I'd be a happy camper." She gave them all kisses on their cheeks. "I'm going out there, I've saved him a seat if he gets here. Break a leg! I love you, guys." She turned and walked out of the front stage door.

"Do you think dad is ever going to realize how great she is? How we couldn't survive if they broke up?" Lizzie said, waving her wand around. "It'd be kinda cool having Liv as a mom. Not that she isn't one to us anyway, but like, for real."

Kathleen stuck her pointed hat on her head and shrugged. "It took Daddy seventeen years to realize Kathy was a raging bitch, so who knows how long it's going to take to see that he should be with Olivia _forever_. The man is a detective. He can find an invisible fingerprint on a pin, but he can't even ask Olivia to...you know."

"I think he's going to, soon, he just doesn't know how to go about doing it, ya know? It's Olivia. His 'Liv', his partner. Like, he's scared if he asks she might shoot him or something." Dickie said, swinging his tail and scratching his whiskers. His sisters just looked at him like he had said the most profound thing in the world. "What?" he asked. The girls smirked and shook their heads, and got ready to go on.

Olivia had been looking from her watch, to the stage to the back of the auditorium, but gave up do to a crick in her neck. The host walked onto the stage, taking the mic, and announced, "Our next act is really a family affair. Performing a scene from the musical _Wicked_, please welcome, Kathleen, Elizabeth and Richard Stabler."

As the audience clapped, and Olivia whooped and hollered, Elliot came into the row and sat beside her. "Talk about impeccable timing," she said sending a sideways glance at him.

"Sorry," he muttered. He looked up at his children on the stage and beamed with fatherly pride as the music began.

Dickie, flapping his monkey wings and chirping, flew around Kathleen, who was crumpled on the floor. Lizzie stepped forward to Kathleen, who appeared to have fallen and held out her hand, helping her up, as she sang, _"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. Now, I don't know if I believe that's true. But, I know I'm who I am today because I knew you."_

Olivia had been looking at Elliot out of the corners of her eyes every so often. Those lyrics hit home for her, because they were exactly how she felt about him.

_"Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun, like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood, who can say if I've been changed for the better? Because I knew you,"_ Lizzie sang holding her sister's hand, _"I have been changed for good."_

Kathleen took two steps forward as Lizzie moved backward, in a choreographed dance. She sang back to her sister, _"It well may be, we may never meet again in this lifetime. So, let me say before we part so much of me is made of what I've learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend."_

Elliot was looking at Olivia with love and admiration, and listening to the words his children were singing, it made his heart sing, too. That was just how he felt about her.

_"Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea, like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood, who can say if I've been changed for the better? But, because I knew you,"_ Kathleen pulled away from Lizzie and took a step back. _"I have been changed for good." _She faced the audience and looked sorrowful. _"And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I've done you blame me for."_

Olivia looked at Elliot, and caught him looking at her. They knew, with just their eyes, that whatever had been said or done, _ever,_ that had hurt each other had been forgiven in that moment. Elliot leaned in and kissed her, smiling against her lips.

Lizzie walked over to Kathleen and put her hand on her sister's shoulder as she sang, _"But then I guess we know there's blame to share,_" Kathleen turned and joined her. "_and none of it seems to matter anymore,"_ the girls harmonized beautifully, Kathleen hitting an impressive note, and everyone cheered. A tear rolled down Olivia's cheek. Elliot grabbed her hand and squeezed. These were _their_ kids, no matter what anyone said.

The girls repeated their verses in a very challenging harmony, singing two different parts at different times, and coming together at the end. _"But who can say if I've been changed for the better?"_ They grasped hands. _"I do believe I have been changed for the better." _Kathleen stepped closer to Lizzie. _"Because I knew you,"_ she sang. Lizzie took a step closer to Kathleen. _"Because I knew you,"_ she replied. They both harmonized and sang the end, holding hands, _"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."_ Once they finished holding their last note, they hugged, and the room erupted in thunderous applause. They signaled for Dickie, who joined them in the middle of the stage, and the three of them held hands and took a bow. They saw Elliot and Olivia in the front row, clapping, crying and snuggling, and they grinned and waved.

"Do you guys see that?" Dickie asked.

Kathleen nodded, "Dad made it! Maybe we can tell him that we're okay with it if he asks her!"

"Quick, Kathleen, gimme your microphone," Dickie said. He ripped the mic from his sister and cleared his throat. "Uh, hi. I was the flying monkey, I know I didn't sing, or... do much of anything, really, why was I even up here?" he turned, asking Lizzie. She responded with a kick to his shin and the room erupted in laughter. "Uh, well, ow, but um, what I would like to say is, that song was special to us because we have two people in our lives, one in particular, who we just wouldn't be the same without. We have been changed for good, by our _parents_."

Dickie passed the mic to Lizzie who looked confused. Why would Kathy have been thanked? Dickie eyed Olivia and Elliot and whacked Lizzie with his tail. Catching on, with a smirk, she said, "A guy named Elliot has made sure our lives didn't become difficult after, uh, something rather unfortunate happened, and we thank him for that. He's the best father ever. But, a girl named Olivia has really changed us, for the better and for good." She handed the mic to Kathleen.

"We wouldn't be who we are if it wasn't for her, and she's probably the coolest person in the universe. She makes our lives a little better and brighter each and every day, so, what we're saying is..." Kathleen held the mic in the middle of her siblings and they all said, "We love you Mom and Dad."

Olivia gasped. Did they really just say that? Everyone in the room clapped and the Stabler kids ran off the stage. "El, they just..." she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, they did. Ya know, um, I was here. Before," he said. "When you were helping them backstage. I just didn't want to interrupt, and I heard them talking."

Olivia was only half-listening, she was still in shock. "El, your kids called me..."

"I know they did, Liv," he said with a chuckle. "They're afraid we're gonna break up."

"So, they called me 'mom' to keep me around? Why are they afraid we're gonna break up? Are we gonna break up?" She suddenly looked sick, scared and she moved in a jerky fashion.

"I hope to God we don't. Will you let me finish, woman?" He laughed again, and looked at her. She nodded, quietly. "Liv, they all said, and I agree, that we couldn't survive without you around. They, uh, seem to think we should be moving a little faster, so, I have to ask you something."

Olivia gasped and started to feel the pounding of her heart in her throat. Elliot continued. "I don't even know why you still have it, because you're never there, but I want you to move out of your apartment, Liv. Move in with me and the kids?"

Three excited squeals came from their left. "Please, Liv?" Lizzie asked.

"Liv?" she asked. "I was 'Mom' two minutes ago!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "Oh, El, I...well, how can I say 'no' to all these cute faces? Especially the one with the whiskers."

Dickie laughed. "See, I knew they would do some good." He slid into the row behind Elliot and Olivia, moving over two seats to let his sisters in.

"I wasn't talking about you, Dickie. Daddy needs to shave," Olivia said, running a hand down his cheek. "You scared me, El. For a minute there I thought you were gonna propose."

"Would you have said yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Olivia smiled brightly. Her eyes twinkled. She nodded. "I am gonna propose to you, baby. Just, not at the kids' talent show. You won't know when, or how, and you're gonna cry like hell. But, I'm gonna do it." He squeezed her hand, looked into her eyes, and they completely ignored the act on the stage as he said, "I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, El," she said with a kiss.

Elliot leaned back in his seat and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You really have changed us, Liv. You know that, right?"

"For the better?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, baby." He kissed the top of her head and said, "And for good."

**A/N: R.S.V.P?**


	12. Can't Fight This Feeling

**A/N: This is for modfeminist85. A songfic, at her request. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue and plot of this story. "Can't Fight This Feeling" is by REO Speedwagon.**

Eleven-forty-five on a Friday night, and there she was, as usual, sitting at her desk, typing, reading, doing anything she could to avoid going home and sleeping. Or not sleeping as it were. If she even tried to close her eyes she'd only see his face, hear his voice, hell, she'd fucking smell him. She squeezed the bridge of her nose, realizing that she was thinking of him while she was wide awake now, and that just wouldn't do. When it was a subconscious thing, she could handle it. Having to admit she loved him when she was fully aware was something of which she was petrified.

She blinked her eyes back open and shook her head, looking down at her open file, but her eyes moved, on their own, to the framed photo on her desk. Her with her arms around him. Some police function or another. They looked happy, and some might say they looked like they were in love. She knew, though, that as much as she loved him, the possibility of him loving her was slim.

"Get over it, Benson," she chided herself, getting out of her seat to get a cup of coffee. She stopped at Munch's desk to flip on the radio perched on the corner. As soon as she heard the beginning of the song, she rolled her eyes. "Wonderful," she muttered. She grabbed her coffee and walked back to her desk, sitting down just as the song kicked into full force.

She looked back at the photo, smiling, as she heard the words to the song.

_I can't fight this feeling any longer. And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow. What started out as friendship, has grown stronger. I only wish I had the strength to let it show_

"Ain't that the goddamn truth," she mumbled, signing her DD-five. She sipped her coffee and typed some more, humming along with the song that, for some reason, was hitting her right in the heart.

_And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the window, On a cold, dark winters night. And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might_

"Not as close as I wanna be," she responded to the radio. "Why the hell am I talking to the fucking radio?" she asked herself.

"Because there's no one else here," she heard his voice say. For a moment, she thought it was in her head. She looked up, cautiously, and saw him standing in the doorway. Their eyes met, just as the chorus to the song rang through the quiet, empty bullpen.

_And I cant fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. It's time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars. Baby, I cant fight this feeling anymore._

"REO Speedwagon," Elliot said, walking in further, walking toward her. "I like this song," he said as he stood right next to her desk. "Dance with me?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

"Dance with me," he said, a command this time, as he grabbed her hands and pulled her up. He wrapped one hand around her waist, and the other held her hand gently. As they swayed back and forth to the music, Elliot looked into her eyes, and sang. "_My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you. I've been running round in circles in my mind, and it always seems that I'm following you, girl. Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find."_

"You're singing," Olivia said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. Inside, though, she was nervous. He was giving her chills, and butterflies, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now. "You come in here, in the middle of the night, and instead of offering to help me with paperwork, you make me dance, and now you're singing."

Elliot nodded, smiling, as he moved a bit closer to her, a breath away, and serenaded her with the next verse. _"And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight. __You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winters night, and I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might."_

A shiver ran up Olivia's spine, she squeezed his hand absently, and was surprised when he pulled her closer, holding her tighter, as he sang, _"And I can't fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. It's time to bring this ship into the shore a__nd throw away the oars,"_ he paused, letting the music play, then he stopped dancing. He held her in his arms, perfectly still, and said, "I really can't fight it anymore, Liv."

"Um, what?" Olivia asked, struggling to breathe. Her heart stopped. he wasn't doing what she thought he was doing. Was he?

"Liv," Elliot whispered, gazing into her eyes, "Just stop fighting it, baby."

Olivia felt his hands move, wrapping around her body. She felt one hand sliding up her back, coming to rest on the back of her neck. She felt him push, ever-so-gently, on her head, moving her lips closer to his. And when they touched, it was magical. She barely heard the rest of the song playing.

_Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. It's time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars, cause baby I can't fight this feeling anymore._

She gasped when he ran his tongue along the top of her bottom lip, and in doing so she gave him access to her mouth, and he took it. Deepening the kiss, holding her tight, she heard him moan. That noise, that sound, woke her body up. Her own hands, now acting of their own volition, skimmed up his body. She entangled one hand in the short hair on the back of his head, and the other clutched tightly onto his back. She was holding him as if he'd disappear in a moment.

Blinded by emotion, Elliot spun Olivia around and pushed her up against the lockers behind her desk. He kissed her harder, deeper, as his hands roamed, touched, and grabbed every part of her body. He pulled away from the kiss, only due to lack of oxygen, and looked into her shocked, open, brown eyes. "That song, Liv, is what I've been feeling for you for years, exactly," he said to her, breathing heavily from that mind-blowing kiss. "I want to really feel it now, Liv. I don't wanna fight it anymore, that's why I came back here."

"You…I…what?" Olivia asked, stammering. How did he expect her to think after the way he kissed her?

Elliot chuckled. "I actually went to your place first," he said with a shrug. "But when you weren't there, I came here. I wanna be with you, Liv. I wanna wake up next you every morning, and go to sleep next you every night, and with the hours in between, when we're not at work, I wanna make love to you, over and over again. You're all I think about, even when I probably shouldn't be thinking about you. If I'm having a bad day, Liv, you get me through it. If I'm pissed off at every goddamn thing, you calm me down. If I'm happy, Liv, it's probably because of you. Olivia, I love you, and I'm so sick and tired of pretending I don't."

Olivia didn't even realize she was crying until Elliot brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away the tears. She wanted to ask about his wife, his kids, the life he'd be leaving behind, but she had waited so long to hear him say that he loved her, she didn't want to ruin it. She settled for a whispered, "I love you, too."

"Good, because I would really hate it if I just signed those damn divorce papers for nothing," he told her with a smirk. He pressed his body into hers, pinning her against the lockers, and slanted his mouth over hers. This time, he didn't need to prod, she gave herself to him willingly, and her hands, more sure of themselves, gripped him strongly. One on the back of his head and one snaking its way down to his ass. He bucked into her when she squeezed, and they moaned and chuckled against their kiss, relieved that they could find playfulness in the midst of all the emotion. It was years of repressed love and tension being released into an Earth-stopping kiss.

Cragen stepped out of his office, heading home for the night, and stopped when he saw his two best detectives locked in a passionate kiss against the lockers. He smirked, knowing that they just couldn't fight their feelings anymore, and relieved that they no longer had to. "Maybe now everyone can stop taking bets on you two, and we can some fucking work done around here," he muttered as he walked out of the bullpen.

Olivia and Elliot didn't hear him. They were, after all, a bit busy.

**A/N: Sweet and Fluffy, no?**


	13. I'm Still A Guy

**A/N: This is for Modfeminist85. Loosely based on the song "I'm Still A Guy," by Brad Paisley. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and the characters. TStabler© owns this story. All of it. **

"Okay, uh, how about this one," Munch Said, staring at the precinct ceiling. "You're on a highway in the middle of the night, you get distracted, you hit a deer. What do you do?"

"Scream," Fin said. "Then check my car for damage. My ride is much too hot to have deer guts on it."

Elliot hummed, sipping his coffee. "Uh, if it's dead? Take it home, hang the antlers on the wall and have dinner for a month."

"You'd eat Bambi?" Olivia blurted, appalled. "You hit it, then you chop off its head, hang it in the living room, and eat it? It's Bambi!"

"It's not Bambi, Liv," Elliot yelled, smirking. "It's just a deer!"

Olivia gave him look and shook her head.

Fin chuckled. "All right, your car breaks down fifty feet from a lake. How do spend your time until the tow truck gets there?"

"Picnic by the water," Olivia said with a sigh. "Sounds nice. Romantic."

Elliot scoffed. "Fishing," he said. "My tackle box and pole are always in the trunk."

"Fishing? What if someone who doesn't know how to fish is in the car with you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'd teach them how to fish. Or they can just enjoy being with me, couldn't they?" Elliot asked, narrowing his eyes right back.

"You're unbelievable," Olivia huffed, rising from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Elliot asked, sounding nervous.

Olivia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Gee, Dad. I'll be back in an hour. I'm meeting Casey and Alex for lunch."

Fin, Munch, and Elliot watched her go. Elliot noticed, as he turned back, that they were staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"You're not gonna go after her?" Munch asked.

"Why would I?" Elliot asked back, clearing his throat.

Fin raised an eyebrow. "We're detectives, but it doesn't take one to figure out that you two are dating. A year and half and you thought we wouldn't figure it out? Go. Before you let this fester and..."

"Thanks," Elliot interrupted, bolting from the squadroom, hoping to find Olivia.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Casey asked, looking at Olivia. "You look pissed off, hurt, and tired."

"I always look like this," Olivia countered.

Alex shook her head. "No, this is different, and this has 'guy' written all over it. What did he do?"

"Who?" Olivia asked.

"This guy you're seeing that you refuse to talk about," Casey said, drinking her Bloody Mary. "Or introduce us to," she added.

Olivia sighed. "I don't understand him sometimes," she said. "I thought he'd changed, not that I wanted him to, but...I mean, he'll pour his heart out to me every night, he's not afraid to cry in front of me, he holds my hand and kisses me in the car at every red light, he wrote me a song! I didn't know he could play the guitar or sing until he sat me down in his living room and it was beautiful." She smiled to herself, then said, "But there's this other side of him, one I thought was almost gone."

"What side?" Casey asked.

Olivia chuckled. "He'll turn around and knock someone on their ass because they looked at me the wrong way, or copped a feel as I was walking by. I thought it was just him being jealous and protective."

"It isn't?" Alex asked, biting into her sandwich.

"No," Olivia chuckled. "He's..." she paused, then smiled. Her eyes got brighter, and her shoulders went from tense to relaxed. "He doesn't do those things like most guys in this city do," she said. "He doesn't get anything plucked or waxed, he doesn't get a manicure every two weeks, or go tanning," she listed. "And if you asked he'd tell you it's because with greasy hands you cant grab a gun or a tackle-box," she laughed.

"He doesn't get _anything_ plucked or waxed?" Casey asked, her forkful of lettuce in her mouth. "Is it a problem? How hairy is he?"

Olivia laughed. "He's not hairy. Not at all," she said. She got a dreamy look in her eyes. "He's got these smooth, rippling muscles, and these incredibly strong, rough hands. He gives the best massages. Then, of course, he thinks they're gonna lead to sex," she chuckled. She sighed and thought for a moment. "Ya know, they ususally do."

"He is not your type," Alex said, shocked. "At all! The last guy you dated had blonde highlights and got facials, and you swore it made him a better person."

"I was lying," Olivia said, realizing it herself. "I was trying to convince myself not to run. Not to..." she paused and took a deep breath. "Not to do exactly what I'm doing right now."

"What?" Casey asked.

"Escape," Olivia said on a sigh. "I was trying to convince myself to look past the things that annoyed me so I wouldn't run. But that's what I'm doing, isn't it? I picked the stupidest little thing and I made it a huge deal. I'm running."

Casey looked at her, seriously, and asked, "Do you want to? Is whatever he did a reason to leave him?"

"No," Olivia said. "It was one of things that made me fall in love with him. His masculinity, his refusal to be one of those men who carries their girlfriend's purse or exude a single iota of femininity. I mean, he's come a long way from grunting, dragging his knuckles on the ground and carrying a club, but at the end of the day, he's still a guy. My guy."

Alex smirked. "You found something wrong with every guy you've ever dated. But because there's _nothing_ wrong with this one, you picked something incredible and tried to make it annoying?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah. My fear of commitment got to me, and fear of rejection."

"He's with you, Olivia, why would he reject you?" Casey asked, furrowing her brow.

"We're not exactly supposed to be seeing each other," Olivia said, biting her lip. "When he realizes the risk we're taking, he's gonna leave. I couldn't handle it if he left me like that so..."

"You were trying to do it before he could," Alex surmised. "You realy don't think he would do that, do you?"

Olivia shook her head. "I need to go find him," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I don't...I can't run from him. Not this time." She got out of her seat, threw a twenty on the table, and ran. She only made it as far as the bar.

"Hey," Elliot said, grabbing her.

"What are you...did you follow me?" Olivia asked, furrowing her brow.

Elliot nodded. "I'm glad I did," he said. "I, uh, I heard you."

"Heard me?" Olivia asked, tilting her head.

"I heard you telling the girls that I'm not a caveman, but that you understand," Elliot said, smirking. "You understand that I'm still a guy. I'm gonna think of sex every time I touch you, I'm gonna drink during the football game after church on Sundays, and I'm gonna burp loudly without saying 'Excuse me,' but it doesn't mean I don't love and respect you."

"I know it doesn't," Olivia said, still looking into his eyes.

Elliot smiled softly at her. "I heard you tell them, in not so many words, that you cry when I sing to you, and you love that I can be sweet and romantic when we're alone," he said. "I heard you tell them that instead of running, this time, you're ready. Really ready, even though...I'm still just a guy. Your guy."

"Yeah," Olivia said, dropping her eyes. "I'm sorry for getting on your case back..."

"Baby," Elliot interrupted, "Don't apologize. I was expecting you to try to run. You always do. But, being a guy, I wasn't gonna let you get that far. You came back on your own, though, which has to mean someting, right?" He took a breath and took her hand. He led her to the center of the cafe. "Liv, baby, you know that I can't be who I wanna be around you unless we're alone, don't you?"

"I do," Olivia said, sadly.

"Well, not anymore," Elliot said, pulling her toward her. He kissed her, deep and passionate, and the cafe stopped to stare. They were truly a sight to behold. Casey and Alex, heading out, were among the onlookers. As was Cragen, having lunch with a few judges. Elliot, aware they were being watched, and by whom, ran his hands down her back and grabbed her ass, and she smacked him in the shoulder. He chuckled, pulled away, and said, "Sorry, I'm still just a guy, baby."

Olivia laughed. "I know you are. That's why I love you."

"I love you, too," Elliot said, nuzzling her nose and squeezing her bum in his hands. "You think you can see yourself marrying a guy like me?"

"A guy like you, or you?" Olivia asked, joking.

Elliot kissed her and slid his hands up her body, copping a feel along the way. He, still kissing her, fidgeted in his pocket for something, then pulled away from her. "Me," he said, holding out a ring. No box. No flash. Just the silver banded diamond, between his thumb and forefinger. "I was gonna ask you, tonight, when I took you out to the lake for a picnic. I was gonna teach you how to fish. But, if you don't want..."

Olivia kissed him, shutting him up. The onlookers clapped and cheered. "My guy," she whispered against his lips. She smiled at him as he slipped the ring on her finger, and turned, gasping, finding Cragen's table.

Elliot sighed and said, "Hey, Cap. Having a nice lunch?"

Cragen looked at them, surprised. "I was," he said. "Now, it's...well, interesting."

Elliot pulled Olivia closer. He said, "I'll work with Munch. His scrawny ass can't do shit about saving her."

"We'll talk about it later," Cragen said. "Congratulations, by the way," he said with a wink and a smile.

Elliot smiled back at him, then tugged Olivia toward the door. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"To celebrate," Elliot told her, wagging his eyebrows.

As they neared the exit, Olivia's head snapped around just in time to see Elliot slug the man who had just grabbed her butt. She laughed loudly and pulled him toward her. "Elliot," she said.

"I know, I'm sorry," Elliot said, rubbing his knuckles.

Olivia cupped his chin and turned his head toward her. "Thank you," she said, gazing at him. "You're a guy, I get it. And I love it. Now take me home and prove how much of a guy you really are."

"Yes, Ma'am," Elliot said, chuckling. He kissed her and led her to their car, and once inside he grabbed her hand, and held it tight, stopping to kiss her at every red light, listening to the CD of the song he wrote for her. He had never felt better about being just a guy, who could finally be himself with his girl.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it =)**


	14. Never Told You

**A/N: A songfic, of my own choosing. It practically wrote itself!**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns Olivia and Elliot, Serena and Joe, and the rest of SVU. TStabler© borrows them, and makes them do funny things. SOng is "I Never Told You," by Colbie Callat**

As soon as Olivia walked into the dimly lit, smoke filled bar, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course," she mumbled. The song playing on the jukebox was hitting her, right in the heart, and it wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't heard it every single day since she'd left New York City. Since she'd been in Jersey, her world had gone dark, and the song that haunted her didn't make it any brighter.

_I miss those blue eyes, how you kiss me at night. I miss the way we sleep._

"The usual, Detective?" the bartender said, wiping off the counter and handing her a glass of whiskey on the rocks.

"Yeah, Sam, thanks," Olivia said, picking the glass up and shaking her head, before chugging it half back.

_Like there's no sunrise, like the taste of your smile, I miss the way we breathe._

"You come in here every night, and I don't even know your name," Sam, the bartender said. He smiled a bright smile at her.

Olivia scoffed. "It's Detective Benson, Sam. That's as close as you're getting."

"Come on, Detective, beautiful gal like you, hot guy like me?" Sam joked, or not, refilling her glass. "What's the problem?"

Olivia shook her head again, swigging her fresh drink down as the song hit her ears.

_But I never told you what I should have said. No, I never told you. I just held it in_

"There's a man in my life already, Sam," Olivia said, wiggling her glass, asking for more. "Well, he was in my life. No, he was my life. And I...I can't," she mumbled. "It's too soon."

Sam smiled sadly at her. "All right," he said, sitting on his stool. "Tell me about him, then. What makes him worth making yourself miserable."

Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes. "It was either him or me," she said. "I left so he wouldn't have to. He had more to lose than I did, and now I...I miss him." A tear rolled down her cheek as she knocked her drink back.

_And now, I miss everything about you. Can't believe that I still want you. And after all the things we've been through, I miss everything about you, without you._

"Why did you have to leave?" Sam questioned, staring off at someone in the booth behind Olivia who was giving him dirty looks.

Olivia chuckled in bitter jest. "We weren't supposed to be together. Ya know, work. We were partners, and I shouldn't have let myself...I fell in love with him. We, uh, got a little too drunk one night and...well, one thing led to another. We were together for a while. Best three months of my life."

"So, you left because..." Sam prodded, holding out his hand, asking for an explanation.

"Our boss found out," Olivia said, sipping her whiskey. "He flipped his lid, handed both of us transfer papers and said to make a decision. I handed mine in that night."

"Did you, uh, tell this guy that you were leaving?" Sam asked, watching the man who was sitting behind her widen his eyes.

"No," Olivia said, reaching over the bar for the bottle of Jack. "He would have tried to talk me out of it, made himself the sacrificial lamb, but he couldn't leave. I knew he couldn't. He's got kids. A family."

"There was no place in the city for you, though?" Sam asked, watching as a tear rolled down the man's cheek.

Olivia gulped down her drink. "Even if there was, I wouldn't have stayed. It would have been too hard, trying to keep our lives together without...he was my partner, I couldn't work without him, and I couldn't stand watching someone else work with him, so I just...left."

Sam nodded in understanding.

_I see your blue eyes every time I close mine. You make it hard to see where I belong to when I'm not around you.__ It's like I'm alone with me_

Olivia ran her hand through her hair. "God, it's horrible, ya know, I see him, everywhere I go. In everything. In windows, in my coffee in the morning, every time I close my eyes, I see his staring back at me, and I realize that I never told him..." she stopped. She shook her head again and chuckled in misery. "Forget it."

"No, tell me," Sam said, seeing the man in the booth gesture to him to get the information out of her.

"I never told him I loved him," Olivia said. "I tried to, I just couldn't get the words out. I've never been good at relationships. I always find someway to...run. I guess even he couldn't change that." She got quiet, poured herself another drink, and let the words of the song speak louder than anything she could have said herself.

_But I never told you what I should have said. No, I never told you. I just held it in. And now, I miss everything about you. Can't believe that I still want you. And after all the things we've been through, I miss everything about you, without you. _

"I hate this fucking song, Sam," Olivia said, laughing. "I miss his eyes, I miss his attitude, I miss the way he pops his gum, and cracks his knuckles. I miss the stupid jokes he makes, that he laughs so hard at because he thinks they're funny. I miss the way he knew exactly how to make me smile, no matter what kind of mood I was in. I miss the way he...loves me."

Sam poured her another drink. "That's a lot of things to miss for someone who made the decision to leave. You can go back, can't ya?"

Olivia avoided the question. "Ya know," she said, clearing her throat, "Uh, when I walked in here, I saw this guy, I swore that it was him. That's...that's crazy. I'm going crazy. I can't...I can't do this anymore," she sighed.

Sam shook his head. "I don't think you're crazy," he said. "Is this guy, uh, is he tall, short hair, dark, really, really blue eyes?"

"Did I really talk about him that much?" Olivia asked, almost whining. "That's pathetic," she grumbled, sipping her drink again.

"No," Sam said. "I mean, yeah, you talked about him, but that's not how I know. Turn around."

Olivia's eyes widened, she snapped her head around, and when her eyes landed on him, she gasped.

"Liv," he whispered, staring at her.

"El," she breathed back.

They both got to their feet and moved, closing in on one another. His lips were on hers in seconds, and her hands pawed and felt their way over his entire body. Tears, running down both of their faces, were dripping onto each other's fingers and shoulders as they caressed and loved each other, as if they were both going to disappear.

Olivia pulled away first, needing to breathe. "How did you find me?" she asked, looking into the blue eyes she'd missed so much.

"I threatened to quit unless Cragen told me where you went," Elliot said, nuzzling her nose. "I have been to every fucking police station in this damn city, finally someone knew who I was looking for and told me you'd be here. Why, Liv? Why did you just..."

"I didn't think I had a choice," Olivia interrupted.

"We had a choice, baby," Elliot said. "We could have done something, figured something out. I need you to come home with me, Liv. Tonight. Phone calls and e-mails aren't enough," he declared. "Come home?"

_But I never told you what I should have said. No, I never told you. I just held it in. And now, I miss everything about you. Can't believe that I still want you. And after all the things we've been through, I miss everything about you, without you._

"There's something I have to tell you first," Olivia said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "I love you," she whispered, afraid to say it out loud.

"I love you, too, baby," Elliot said to her, brushing the back of his hand across her cheek. "Come home," he demanded. "I need a new partner."

"What?" Olivia asked, laughing. "I can't be your..."

"I had five," Elliot said, interrupting her, pecking her lips. "They all left," he said, giving her another kiss. "I wouldn't work with them. I went out on my own, left them out of conversations and investigations, I even called one of them 'Liv."

Olivia laughed as he kissed her again. "You didn't!"

"I did," Elliot said, pecking her lips again. "He didn't like that too much. I can not stop kissing you."

"Please, don't," Olivia begged quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'll come home, El."

Elliot sighed in relief. "Thank God," he said with a kiss. "Baby, promise me you'll never leave me again."

"Never," Olivia declared. "I miss you too damn much. I miss everything about you, without you." She kissed him, then asked, "What about Cragen?"

Elliot smirked. "He's just gonna have to deal with it." He leaned in to kiss her again, and as the last notes of the song played, Olivia's world got a whole lot brighter.

**A/N: I heard this song in the car today, and it just had to be done! Hope you liked it! **


	15. Next To You

**A/N: This is for ****x8xKrazee. Benson. Fanx8x**. The song it is based on is "Next To You" by Jordin Sparks. Hopefully, I've done it justice. 

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns the Special Victims Unit and its detectives. TStabler© owns this story. Thanks. **

Olivia sighed and rolled over in her bed. The red numbers staring at her from her bedside clock flashed at her, teasing her, sticking their tongues out at her. "Two o'clock," she mumbled to herself. "I wish that I was sleeping."

She couldn't sleep. She couldn't get him out of her head. Like a song on the radio, his eyes, his face, his voice, it all played over and over in her mind. Her cell phone rang, snapping her out of her trance. "Benson," she grumbled into the end. "Yeah, Cap. No, uh, I'll call him."

A case. A reason to call him. She turned the phone over in her hands, as if getting up the nerve to dial his number. Finally, she did. "El, uh, we got a body dump on East Thirty…yeah, uh, yeah you can come get me." She felt her heart flutter. She needed to be with him, by his side, next to him, and the offer to come pick her up meant that he wanted to be with her, too, didn't it?

She leaped off of her bed and pulled on a fitted suit, slicked her hair back into a ponytail, and spritzed some lavender scented spray on just as she heard her phone bleep. The text he sent her said he was outside, and he had made a heart out of the "less-than" symbol and the number three before signing his name. "What the hell does that mean?" she asked herself.

It didn't matter. She ran like wind through her hall and down the stairs, pulling herself together as she strode over to his car. She got into the passenger seat and smiled at him. "East Thirty-Second," she said. She sighed as he pulled away from her building. Maybe they were just friends, maybe they were more than that, but she knew that she loved him. She wasn't allowed to, for many reasons, but she did. She caught his eyes and he looked away quickly. Was it just her imagination, or did she really just catch him staring at her?

She took a breath and shook her head. She thought, maybe, she was crazy. She thought that, maybe, he felt something for her, too. She needed to find out. She needed to get close to him, next to him.

They arrived at the scene and got out of the car, and Elliot, normally one to wait for her, sped off toward the body without saying a word.

Olivia looked on, confused and a bit hurt. Until Casey Novak, the unit's attorney, strode up to her. "He hasn't told you yet, has he?" she asked Olivia.

"What?" Olivia asked. "Told me what?"

Casey shook her head. "Kathy left him on Monday. She took the kids."

"What?" Olivia asked, shocked. "How the fuck…why did he tell you before me?"

Casey held up her hands, defensively. "I only know because the divorce papers were filed through my office," she explained. "I did talk to him though. He, uh, he wants to make a move on you, Olivia. He won't though, because he thinks he's out of your league and he's afraid you're gonna reject him."

"What a fool," Olivia spat, not realizing. "He doesn't know that I…how can he not know?"

"You don't exactly make it obvious, Olivia," Casey said, shaking her head. "I just told you because you both looked so nervous. I thought he said something! Maybe now…you can stand next to him without feeling like you're going to die."

"Thanks," Olivia said, nodding. She took a deep breath and walked over to the body, stepped up next to Elliot, and sighed. "What have we got?" she asked, trying to stay calm, keep her heart from pounding.

"Melinda found fluids," Elliot told her. "She was shot twice in the chest, one bullet hit her heart, and there are post-mortem wounds to her, uh…"

"That's just wrong," Olivia said, shaking her head. She glanced at Elliot and caught his eyes again. He was really staring at her. "I wish you knew what you mean to me," she thought to herself.

"Tell me, then, Liv," Elliot said, furrowing his brow.

She had said that out loud. Shit. "Uh, what?" she asked, hoping he would think he misheard her.

"What do I mean to you?" Elliot asked, moving closer, moving next to her.

Olivia's heart pounded, she felt her palms start to sweat. "We have a dead girl over here, El. Can we talk about this later?"

"Yeah," Elliot scoffed. "That'll happen."

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, offended. "What the hell does that mean?"

Elliot shook his head. "You never talk to me, Liv. You never tell me what's going on anymore. Like why you're not sleeping. What the hell were you doing awake at five in the morning, huh?"

Olivia gasped. "How did you know I was…so you _were_ outside of my apartment last night! God, I thought I was imagining…and where do you get off accusing me of not talking to you? You obviously didn't think it was necessary to tell me your wife walked out on your ass two days ago!"

"That was low, Liv," Elliot whispered harshly. "I didn't wanna tell you until I was sure I could…tell you something else. I wanted to tell you something important when I told you Kathy was gone, and I just didn't have the nerve."

Olivia looked around, bit her bottom lip, then pulled Elliot toward a darkened corner of the street. "Tell me, then. What could possibly be so hard to tell me that you had to keep your personal problems…"

"I love you," Elliot told her, cutting her off. "I'm in love with you. You have no idea, Liv, how badly I wanna be next to you, close to you, every night. You don't know what it's like to be lying in bed with someone and wishing that it was someone else. Kathy didn't leave me, Liv, we split up. We both knew…"

"I do know," Olivia interrupted. "I know exactly what it's like to be with…God, the whole time I was with Dean I was wishing he was…you. I was awake at five in the morning…I can't sleep because when I close my eyes I see you. I know exactly what you're talking about. I love you, too."

"Hey," they heard Melinda, the medical examiner, yell at them. "Can you two fill the rest of us in on whatever amazing detective conclusions you've been coming to over there?"

Olivia looked at Elliot, then to Melinda. "We're looking for a necrophiliac, possibly. Call Huang. See what he says."

"All that talking and that's all you've got?" Melinda asked.

Elliot shook his head. "No," he said. He smirked, his heart filling with warmth, as he said, "We've got a lot more than that, Doc." He turned to Olivia and whispered, "Let's get this done, Liv. I wanna take you home and, God, I can't wait to get in bed next to you."

Olivia's eyes widened. "You work faster than I thought!" she said, shocked.

"I mean, literally, in bed, Liv. You and I, I think, are both gonna sleep soundly tonight."

"If I'm next to you," Olivia said, "I know I will."

They worked fast, gathered more evidence than they needed, and passed the case off to Munch and Fin. Elliot anxiously led Olivia to the car, turned the key, and drove off, heading, not to her place, but to his.

"El?" Olivia questioned, confused.

"Trust me," Elliot said to her, stepping on the gas.

The ride was silent, both of them leaning closer to each other. When the car stopped, and parked, Elliot got out and ran around to help her out. He took her hand, feeling heat and shocks through his system.

Olivia couldn't believe she was so close to him, holding his hand.

He pulled her into the house, kicking the door closed behind him, and led her up the stairs. "I can't wait to get next to you," he said, pulling her clothes off of her, slowly. As she stood before him in just her white button down shirt, he shook his head and blinked twice, stopping himself. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and one of his tee shirts, handing them to her. He respectfully walked into the bathroom to change, allowing her to do the same.

"It's okay," Olivia called to him before he could close the bathroom door. "El?"

Elliot turned around, slowly, and cleared his throat. He nodded, and pulled his shirt off over his head. He heard Olivia gasp, and he smirked, his cocky attitude taking over. He watched as Olivia took off the white button-down, and he, too, had to struggle to breathe. He moved, closer to her, and took the tee out of her hands. He put the shirt on for her, tugging it down, then helped her into the sweatpants. He changed into sweats of his own and took her hand in his. He pulled her closer, brushed his hand over her head and ran his fingers through her hair. "Can I?" he asked.

"Please," Olivia said, moving closer.

Elliot cupped her face, taking the final step, closing the gap between them, and he drew her head closer, pressing his lips to hers. The fire engulfing them was incredible, impossible to resist, and the kiss deepened. As their tongues wrestled and danced, Elliot backed Olivia up, pushing her gently onto the bed. Kissing her, he crawled over her and pulled the blankets over them. He rolled them to the side gently, and, still kissing her, he reached blindly for the light. He pulled away and looked into her bright, sparkling eyes. "We're really here," he whispered. "Finally."

"Yeah, El," Olivia said. "I'm finally sleeping, right next to you."

Elliot kissed her once more, whispered a sweet "I love you," and wrapped her in his arms, and for the first time in a very long time, they slept soundly, knowing that the one that they loved, needed, and wanted more than anything, was right next to them.

**A/N: I tried…I have never heard this song, so…I don't know if it worked. Let me know?**


	16. What Do I Have To Do

**A/N: So these stories are supposed to be little slices of life. Real life. Well...it doesn't get much more real than this. At least, in my warped imagination :) A spngfic request! It was hard, as there aren't many lyrics to the song...**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf still owns the L&O franchise, and its characters. TStabler© still owns this story. Song is "What Do I Have To Do" by Martina McBride.**

Olivia Benson's viosn was fuzzy, blurry really, as she pulled up to her new apartment building and parked in her new spot, with its new number. She sighed as she opened her car door, then slammed it. She stared at the building for a moment, twirling the keys around her finger, pondering going inside. It felt like a nad dream. "Third city," she mumbled to herself. "God, let it be the last one."

She strolled up to the door, pushing it open and let out a yawn as she got the mail out of the box. "You're new," a voice behind her said. She turned to see a little old lady with a dog on a leash smiling at her. She smiled back. "Yes, I am," she said.

"Rent's due on the fifteenth," the lady spat, not smiling anymore.

"Ah," Olivia said, realizing that this was the landlord's mother. She'd been warned about her. "I know that, Misses Klien. Thank you." She ran a hand through her hair and climbed the stairs to her apartment, opening the door. "Okay," she said to no one. "Nice place for what I'm paying, I start a new job tomorrow, and maybe I can finally forget all about him."

She had been trying, unsuccessfully, to forget about the detective she'd let herself fall for. They'd met in California, at a seminar. She knew he was married then, and it didn't stop her. She thought she'd never see him again.

She walked into her bathroom, finding it funny that she never remembered walking through her apartment, turning on the light, then the water. She stripped as she thought of him. Their second meeting, when she was transferred to the homicide unit in Chicago, had been hell for her. They were working on a cross-jurisdiction case, a serial rapist and killer who crossed from New York to Illinois, and he'd been sent from his precinct, the Twenty-Ninth, to work with her. He hung around for an entire month, staying with her, to catch the bastard. When they weren't working, they were fucking. When they weren't fucking, they were actually getting to know each other. It was the best month of her life. And the worst. It was the month she fell in love with the man who'd been haunting her ever since.

She showered, the water too hot and the chill in her heart too cold, then dressed for bed, taking the clothes out of a bag she hadn't yet unpacked. She pulled the pants out of the duffel, and a picture flew out with them. She bent over to pick it up, then cursed. "You," she mumbled. "What do I have to do to make me stop loving you?" She shook her head and tossed the picture onto the dresser, then pulled on her pants, drifting off to sleep.

The alarm buzzed rather quickly, it hardly felt like she slept at all. She got out of bed and she heard gunshots and sirens. "Welcome to New York," she thought. She turned to the picture, standing on its edge on the dresser, as she dressed for work. "I want my life back," she whispered to the picture, as if it was him. "I want to move on," she said. "What do I have to do?" she asked the quiet air in her apartment. It may have been a dumbass move on her part, accepting a transfer to the very city he was from, but it was close to her mother. She was born here, raised here, and it was only fitting that, when she was offered a position of high-rank in a unit she couldn't wait to work with, that she'd take it. Besides, what were the odds of ever having to work with him? He was in a different precinct.

She stopped at a coffee cart as she walked, slowly, to work. Her first day in a new unit, in which she would probably be the only woman, and showing up with a lead detective's position, was bound to be bad. She wanted to take her time getting there. She finally reached the doors on the One-Six, the sixteenth precinct, and pulled them open. She took the stairs to the fourth floor, the Special Victim's Unit. She tossed her jacket on the chair of the desk she knew to be hers, dropped her coffee down on the desk across from it, and walked over to the captain's office door, knocking.

She ignored the stares she was getting, smirking slightly. She looked hot in her fitted suit, and she knew that she gave the impression that she was pretty fucking bad-ass. The door opened and the captain, Donald Cragen, smiled at her. He held out his hand and said, "Detective Benson, welcome."

"Thanks," Olivia replied, nodding. "What do you need me to..."

"Dammit, Stabler," a loud voice from inside the bullpen yelled. "You just punched my client! You know how bad this is gonna..."

"Shut up, Langan," another voice yelled back. "If someone lunges at me, I'm gonna fucking punch them! It was self defense!"

Olivia's face visibly paled as she turned, slowly, to see the two men arguing. "No," she mumbled to herself. "Just when I thought it was over, you get closer," she whispered, shaking her head.

"What is going on out here?" Cragen asked, ushering Olivia further into the bullpen.

"Stabler's a hot-head," Langan yelled.

"Langan's a moron," Stabler yelled back.

Cragen shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Olivia Benson, this is Trevor Langan, Defense Attorney. You'll be working with him a lot."

"Hello," Olivia said, holding her hand out to Trevor, smiling. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," Trevor returned, gazing longingly at her.

Cragen smirked. "And this is Elliot Stabler, your new partner, and he has one hell of a short fuse."

"I know," Olivia said, catching his eyes.

Elliot's jaw dropped, his eye's widened, then narrowed. "Hi," he finally said.

Olivia ran a hand through her hair. "Hi," she replied.

"Why don't you two go grab a cup of coffee," Cragen said, heading into his office. "Get to know each other." He closed the door behind him, oblivious to the smirk on Elliot's face as they walked out of the squadroom.

"Wow," Elliot scoffed, pushing the button for the elevator.

"Yeah," Olivia said. "I thought you worked for the twenty..."

"Transferred," Elliot interrupted. "You were supposed to be heading up Chicago's hom..."

Olivia interrupted him. "New York, uh, offered more money, the chance to be closer to my mother."

"And me," Elliot said with a tinge of arrogance.

Olivia chuckled. "Actually, I tried like hell to forget about you. To get over you." They stepped onto the elevator, and Elliot pushed the button for the ground floor. "I even met someone who I thought would let me do that...I was gonna marry him, Elliot."

"Why didn't you?" Elliot asked, meeting her eyes with a look of intense seriousness in his.

"You know why," Olivia whispered, stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened. "Speaking of married," she said with a lilt in her voice. "How's Kristy?"

"Kathy," Elliot said with a narrow-eyed smirk, he knew she knew his wife's name. "We, uh, aren't doing so hot right now." He led Olivia into the small cafeteria, and over to a table.

"Were you ever?" Olivia asked, sitting.

"No," Elliot said, shrugging. "Did you?"

"Did I what?" Olivia asked, nodding at the clerk who was waving a coffee pot at her.

"Get over me?" Elliot asked. "Because if you did, It would break my heart, and if you didn't..."

Olivia interrupted him again. "If I didn't then we can't be partners."

Elliot watched the man pour their coffee and he bit his lip, contemplating his next move. "So why don't we just say you did?"

Olivia chuckled, sipping her coffee. "How about we pretend we've never even met before today?" she asked sarcastically. "Because that's easier."

Elliot sighed and looked at her. "We could," he said. "Ya know, tell that to everyone else."

"And what do you tell your wife?" Olivia asked, sipping the coffee again. "What do we tell ourselves?"

Elliot moved one hand from the side of his coffee mug to her hand, caressing it. "I don't talk to my wife enough to tell her anything, and we tell ourselves the truth." He lifted her hand gently into his and said, "We tell each other the truth."

"Okay," Olivia said. "The truth." She looked up at him and caught a glimmer in his blue eyes. She sighed and said, "In California, it was one night with a hot cop I was never supposed to see again. In Chicago, it was one month of living a life I could never really have. Here, I mean shit...I was supposed to be able to spend the rest of my life without ever seeing you again." She shrugged and pressed her lips together. "So tell me what I have to do to do that."

Elliot looked her right in the eyes and said, "Wake up."

Olivia popped up her head and looked around the room, frantic. No one noticed that she'd fallen asleep, it seemed, so she squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the sleep our of them.

"You okay?" her partner asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

Olivia nodded. "Didn't get much sleep on the plane," she said. "Have you ever been to California?"

"Uh, no," Elliot said. "You would know if I had or not. Why?"

"You, uh, have you ever worked in Chicago?" Olivia asked, sipping the coffee he'd given her.

"Liv," Elliot said, "The only places I have been in the last five years are here, the station, your apartment, and my house. I've never been to California, or Chicago, and if I ever do go, you're coming with me. Why are you asking?"

Olivia tried to focus on the man speaking at the seminar they were sitting in, but she leaned into Elliot. "I just had the craziest dream," she said.

Elliot looked at her and narrowed his eyes, smirking maniacally. "If it was about me and you doing naughty things in Chicago, I will book a flight right now," he said under his breath.

"Jesus," Olivia said, rolling her eyes. "Keep it in your pants, Stabler, we're working."

"No, we're being bored to death," Elliot said with a laugh. "This guy makes collecting evidence sound like getting a root canal. I would much rather be leaving some evidence of my own...all over your body...in our hotel room."

Olivia gave him a look and said, "And you wonder why Kathy left your sorry ass," she joked.

"No, I know why," Elliot said. "She went to some medical convention in California nine months ago, slept with a doctor, came home pretending it never happened. Then she headed up the research for some new cancer treatment out in..."

"Chicago," Olivia said, shocked. "For a month, right?"

"Yeah," Elliot scoffed. "That same fucking doctor was there, on her team, and they spent the entire month just..."

"El," Olivia interrupted. "I had a dream about Kathy's affair. Only it wasn't Kathy...it was you. And I was the doctor. God, it was weird." She looked at him and said, "I don;'t like feeling like we were the ones having the affair, and the feeling in the pit of my stomach...I know it was just a dresm, but I...shit, I feel horrible."

Elliot looked over at her, smirking, and took her hand as he asked, "What do I have to do to make you forget it?"

**A/N: Hope it was what you wanted, CJ! Thanks for reading it!**


	17. Call You Mine

**A/N: A reqfic for one of my best pals SLC3407! A bit...sad...this one is? Maybe? Happy where it matters, though. ;) Italics are where I used the lyrics, though they've been slightly altered.**

**DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Dick Wolf, song is "I Just Call You Mine" by Martina McBride, story is an original TStabler© production. **

Elliot walked into his kitchen, groggy and scruffy, not having made it into the bathroom to shower or shave yet. He reached into the cabinet for a coffee mug, and as he turned to pour, he noticed his wife sitting at the table with a white photo album in her hands. "What's that?" he asked, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"Our wedding pictures," his wife returned, never looking up from her current page.

Elliot sighed. "Why are you looking at it now?" he asked, finally pouring the coffee he so desperately needed.

"I woke up, and I realized, we are not the same people that we were back then," she said. "I remember, I used to _pinch myself sometimes, thinking I was in a dream_." _She closed her eyes, and breathed, remembering the sweetest moments._ _It felt like home_. "_And here I am, wanting to be your everything_, and you..." she stopped. She looked down, she flipped a page. "You used to _turn winter into spring_, you know that? _One word from you and it fixed everything, no matter what was wrong_."

"Don't do this," Elliot said, putting his mug down and closing his eyes. "Please, don't do this," he pleaded, shaking his head, afraid of what was coming.

His wife laughed at one of the pictures, turned the page, and she sighed again. She looked up at him and said, "_I'd be a fool not to see, or even worse, to forget that you're more than I deserved_."

"I really need you to stop talking, Kathy," Elliot said, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the side of the kitchen counter, refusing to look at his wife.

Kathy rose from the seat, walked over to him, and with tears in her eyes, she said, "_Nothing makes sense when you're not here_, Elliot. It's _as if my whole world disappears_." She reached out to touch him, but he pulled away. She swallowed hard, hiding the sob in her voice as she said, "_Without you, what's the point of anything_?"

Elliot finally turned to her, ran a hand down his stubble-speckled face, and said, "Damn it, Kathy! You know you don't mean any of that. Why this, huh?" He gestured to her and the album. "Why are you doing this now?"

Kathy let the tears fall. "I don't know," she said, choking on her words. "I just want you to come home, Elliot. Please..."

"You can't push me away, convince me that this marriage is over, make me sign fucking divorce papers, and then ask me to come home the day after I finally...shit!" Elliot yelled.

"You came home last night," Kathy reminded him. "Just stay!"

Elliot turned on her again, yelling now. "That's not how it works, damn it! I only came back here because Lizzie's sick. That couch is more warm and comfortable than being in bed with you has been in years. What does that say?"

"It says we just need to try harder," Kathy said, again trying to reach for him.

Elliot jerked away, as if getting out of the way of a hot poker. "We've been trying too hard for years, and you know it. You were right, Kathy," he said, washing out his mug. "We are not the same people we were in those pictures." He dried his hands on a towel and moved to leave. "I've gotta get ready for work," he told her. "Liv and I will get the rest of my stuff tonight."

Kathy cringed at her name, then watched him leave. Once he was up the stairs, she walked over and sat on the couch that he'd slept on. She lifted his pillow to her face and inhaled, and she noticed it smelled more like lavender than pine. She realized something then, and let herself fall apart into the pillow. She lost him. An he would never be coming home.

* * *

"Are you gonna be okay?" Olivia asked, dropping a box in the middle of Elliot's floor.

Elliot nodded. "This is gonna be good," he said. "My kids are gonna be coming every weekend so I'm not losing them, ya know?"

Olivia nodded at him. "That's good," she said with a smile, trying to keep him positive. "You, uh, picked a great place," she said. "At least you're off of my couch now," she laughed.

"You loved having me on your couch," Elliot teased. "And it's a great place. Ya know, it's closer to work, and to you. I've never really had my own space, though. I'm not really the domestic type, I'm gonna have a problem keeping it clean."

Olivia laughed. "You are preaching to the choir, Elliot," she said. She reached for her keys on his coffee table, but his hand grabbed hers, stopping her. "What are you..."

"Liv," Elliot whispered, "Nothing happened."

Olivia straightened up, her keys in her hand. "When?" she asked, confused.

"With Kathy," Elliot told her. "Whens she called and I had to leave...I just went there to take care of my sick kid. I slept on the couch, nothing happened. She tried, pretty damn hard actually, but nothing happened."

Olivia looked around nervously. "Okay, good," she said. "That explains why I just spent the last three hours helping you move into this apartment. Is there some reason you're telling me..."

Eliot pulled her closer to him. "You have to know," he said to her. "What happened last night...before she called, everything I said to you...everything I did to you..."

"Blame the Captain Morgan," Olivia said with a smirk. "Right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was all real," Elliot told her. "I remember everything, I remember you saying and some pretty amazing things, too. You didn't drink at all, so what was that, huh?"

"Best night of my life," Olivia whispered.

Elliot smiled at her. "Mine, too," he said. "Liv, God, last night made me finally face what I've been fighting. It made everything make sense to me, and made me realize that I am so in love with you and what you and I have, and taking that next step is worth the risk. This thing...it's not going away, and it's not just some fling. Please, don't think it is."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "I never said it was," she said. "I just...thought you would need time to get over your div..."

"You don't know how great you are," Elliot interrupted, brushing her hair off of her face and chuckling. "You always put yourself last. _Everyone that sees you always wants to know you_," he told her with another soft chuckle. "Everyone. You have this magnetism about you that...is so strong. And _everyone that knows you always has a smile_ when you're around. Baby, I never smile the way I do when I'm around you. You make me so fucking happy." He searched her eyes. "I've been in love with you for so long. Liv, _you are the dream that I've been chasing_ for years. _After years of waiting to fall and shine_ with you, it happened, and I don't want it to end," he told her, emotion rippling in his voice.

Olivia sighed, letting go of the tension that she'd been feeling all night. "I don't either, but I'm not going to be your..."

"You're not," Elliot said, smiling, knowing what she was going to say. "You are much more than that, you're...you're everything to me. Absolutely everything," he told her.

Olivia brushed her lips over his and asked, "What about your kids? People at work? Kathy?"

"They'll deal with it," Elliot told her. "And they'll know why. Baby, they won't blame me for falling in love with you. I mean, everyone knows you're this brilliant, incredible woman." He grinned at her, pulled her closer to him, and said, "_Everyone calls you amazing, I just call you_..."

"Liv," Olivia chuckled.

Elliot shook his head. "_Mine_," he whispered. "I want to call you mine. My best friend, my partner, my soulmate, my lover, my life. Mine."

"On one condition," Olivia said, smiling, so close to his lips.

"Name it," Elliot said, impatiently waiting until he could kiss her.

Olivia looked into his eyes and said, "I get to call you mine, too."

Elliot smiled at her. "Deal," he whispered. And then it happened. Their lips touched lightly, igniting a spark, causing them to deepen their kiss. With his arms finally around the woman he'd waited for, and a rocky relationship firmly in his past, Elliot breathed easily. He knew that she was his, and he was hers, and together, that was all that mattered. "_Yeah_," he whispered as he pulled away from her. "_I just call you mine_."

**A/N: Well? Good? Bad? Ugly? Review here or on Twitter: TMG212 **


	18. Tied Together With A Smile

**A/N: Had this song in my head for a few days now. It speaks more to me, personally, but fits this little story.**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and related characters belong to Dick Wolf. Song belongs to Taylor Swift. Story, dialogue, narrative and plot belong to TStabler©**

Olivia was staring into the small mirror in the locker room. At first, she was examining the purple bruise on her cheek, but as the minutes ticked away, she became engrossed in examining her face. Her eyes, how sad and dim they'd seemed now when they used to be bright and white. Her nose had become narrow, owed that to weight loss, she thought, but her clothes had been getting tighter, not bigger. Her complexion was once smooth and olive-toned, and now it was pasty, white, pale.

"_Seems the only one that doesn't see your beauty is the face in the mirror looking back at you_," a voice from behind her said.

She turned and furrowed her brow in confusion.

"_You walk around here, thinking you're not pretty, but that's not true_," the man looking at her said. "You're beautiful."

She sniffled and shrugged. "Thanks, Fin," she said. It wasn't his approval she needed. It wasn't his compliments she wanted. She turned back to face the mirror, and without warning, she brought a hand up, swung back, and punched the glass, shattering it.

"_Hold on_," Fin yelled, reaching for her. "_Baby_-Girl_, you're losin' it_! Calm down!"

Olivia shrugged him off of her and shook her head. "I'm fine," she spat, sniffling. "I'm…I'm fine," she said, softer with more even breathing. She closed her eyes and tried to stop the flood, the water was high and she was jumping into it, letting go, because no one knew her secret, and she couldn't tell them. She had to be fine. She smiled and took a breath, and said, "I'm fine."

Fin gave her a wary look and tilted his head. "This is about him, isn't it?" he asked.

Olivia said nothing, grabbing her jacket with her now-bloody hand and ran out of the locker room, ignoring the question. Ignoring the answer.

She blew by everyone in the hall, didn't even go back into the squad room, and she slapped the elevator call button. She stepped into it and sighed, feeling the tears building, but she stopped herself from crying. She plastered on a smile, tying herself together, and walked out of the building.

She walked quickly, down two blocks to the café at which she'd be meeting Casey. She stepped into it and waved at the lawyer, sitting at a table in the corner. She grinned, her smile fake but yet convincing, and walked over to her friend.

They ate, had a few drinks, and then their conversation turned serious. "Olivia," Casey began, "I'm worried about you."

"What?" Olivia asked. "Why?"

Casey sighed and looked at her pal, her eyes sad, and said, "_Is true love really all you want? Because you're giving it away like it's extra change, hoping it'll end up in his pocket_! You can't keep putting your life on hold, waiting for him to leave his wife. You have to get over it, Olivia. Move on, it's killing you!"

"I can't…" she whispered. She blinked, again stopping the tears, and she said, "_It's not his price to pay_. It's my mistake, and I'm not…"

"Olivia," Casey interrupted, narrowing her eyes, "What price? What mistake?"

Olivia looked up and said, softly, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"_Baby, you're losing it. You cry, but you don't tell anyone_," Casey said, running her finger over the red streak that had been left on Olivia's cheek. "_You think you might not be the 'golden one_', Olivia, but people do care about you, and they worry about you." She tilted her head and said, "_You're tied together with a smile, and you're coming undone. _Talk to me, honey. What's wrong?"

Olivia sniffled, realizing the tears had fallen, and she lowered her head. "I'm pregnant, Casey," she sobbed. She felt Casey gasp and wrap her arms around her, and she cried. Finally letting go_. "No one knows_," she whispered. "You can't tell anyone, Case. Especially not…"

"Olivia," Casey said, pushing her up and looking into her eyes. "Are you telling me this baby is…"

Olivia nodded, not waiting for Casey to finish asking her question. She wiped her eyes, grabbed her jacket again, and threw a twenty dollar bill down on the table. She left, without looking back, and headed out into the pouring rain.

The walk home was cold, wet, but she was thankful that no one would be able to see her crying for the raindrops. She walked up the steps to her building, pushed open the door, took a slow walk up the stairs and paused at the end of her hallway. "Shit," she hissed. She walked toward her door, scared and unsure. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not looking at him, unlocking her apartment.

"I needed to see you," he said. "Talk to you."

She pushed the door open and walked over to her couch, flopping on it ungracefully. "Did Casey call you?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Liv, I…why didn't you tell me?" he asked, blinking at her, his face a mix of hurt and confusion.

Olivia scoffed. "How could I? What the hell were you gonna do about it? We already decided that this was a mistake, and you…"

"You decided," he said, his voice firm. "You wouldn't let me walk away from her, Liv. No matter how many times I told you it was you I wanted. This…is not a mistake," he told her.

Olivia shook her head. "You don't know what you're saying, Elliot," she snapped.

Elliot reached up and caressed her cheek, gingerly grazing the bruise. "If I had known you were…God, I never would have let you go after that guy, baby."

Olivia sighed. "Don't call me…"

"Will you knock it off?" he barked. "If you bothered talking to me about anything but work in the last month, I would have told you I signed the papers, I moved out, and it's over. She hates me, and I get the kids every other weekend and some holidays, but fuck, I'm happy!" He saw her flinching as he yelled and he softened. "Liv," he said, pulling her into him, "You're so scared, and you think I'm gonna leave, I know that's why you keep pushing me away. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

She looked up at him, her tears falling freely now, and said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, El, I didn't think…"

"I didn't think about it either, baby," he said, rocking her in his arms as her head fell to his chest. "You don't have to hold yourself together anymore," he whispered. "That's my job now."

She sniffled and shook her head.

"Yes it is," he said firmly. "I love you, Liv. Affair or not, it was never anything but love, and that's what created this baby. I'm here, and I'm gonna be here for every single blessed second of our child's life. You, me, this baby, that's life now."

She looked up at him again, smiling a real smile, and she said, "I love you, El."

He pressed his lips to hers gently and said, "My beautiful girl, how could ever think that I'd leave you alone?"

"I didn't think I was the one you wanted," she said. "Not really. I thought…"

"No, you knew," he said, stopping her with another kiss. "You were just afraid of it. Are you afraid now?" he asked, seeing her eyes brighten up again right in front of him.

She shook her head. "No, I'm…I'm fine." She kissed him again and sighed into him, letting him wrap her up, untying the fake smile and keeping the real happiness in her heart and on her face. She pulled away and nuzzled his nose. "I'm fine," she whispered.

And she was.

**A/N: Sorry if it was awful, but that's the story that the song told me. I'm on a Taylor Swift kick, so there might be more of these popping up. Review here, or on Twitter: TMG212**


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